The Strangest Courtship
by aseret789
Summary: Lily and James'....er....relationship 5th year through 7th and maybe beyond. Sirius has been challenged to date the "straight-laced, smart-ass" Lily, and James wrestles with feelings for her. Many strange run-ins....I wonder how it all turns out?
1. The Challenge

**THE STRANGEST COURTSHIP**

**Chapter One:**

**The Challenge**

Lily Evans arrived at King's Cross Station full of excitement; it was going to be her fifth year at Hogwarts, and she hadn't seen her wizarding friends all summer. Being a muggle, she'd been a camp counselor during the days and waited tables during the nights; anything to get out of the house so she could be away from her horrific older sister, Petunia.

Petunia was a muggle, but that wasn't what made Lily abhor her so; both Lily's parents were muggles as well, and she still missed them as much as ever during her time at Hogwarts. But from the day Lily had received the letter informing her that she was a witch, Petunia had become cold and bitter towards her. Whether Petunia's bitterness stemmed from resentment, jealousy, or just disgust, it had torn the two sisters apart irreparably.

Needless to say, Lily had needed a reason to stay out of the house during those long summer days when tempers quickly boil....and with the fiery tempers that Lily and Petunia shared, fights were likely to erupt all too often.

As soon as Lily stepped through the barrier at Platform 9 3/4, she began scanning the crowd for the face of her best friend, Arabella Figg. But before she could spot the Arabella's long brown hair, however, Lily was dismayed to see four tall heads approaching—the Marauders.

The Marauders were the biggest trouble-makers in the school, and also the most handsome; consequently, they were rather arrogant and lusted after by most of the female population of Hogwarts. For these reasons and others, Lily loathed the sight of them.

But Lily's red, curly hair was hard to miss, and the boys had made a beeline for it as soon as they saw Lily enter the station. Her spitfire temper made her easy to rile up, and she was consequently one of the Marauders' favorite targets for teasing and pranks. And so the four Marauders were heading straight for an angry Lily Evans, and Arabella was nowhere in sight.

"Evans," said Sirius with a low whistle as he stopped across from her. His eyes kept darting from her face to her chest; she had become quite beautiful over the summer, and he didn't know what to make of it. "Not the gawky, brainy redhead with the hot temper we left last summer, eh?" She narrowed her eyes at him, and he amended himself. "Well, not gawky, at least....apparently the hot temper is still intact."

"Sirius, could you at least wait until we're on the train to torment me?" Lily asked with exasperation just as the other three Marauders stepped into view. Their reactions upon seeing Lily were quite different. Sirius' eyes had widened and he'd shot her a sarcastic taunt; Remus raised an eyebrow at her and then rolled an eye at Sirius ("Sorry Padfoot here's drooling over you like a dog; have a good summer, Lily?"); Peter put a hand to his mouth before letting out a weak giggle ("Ha, Lily, see you haven't changed!" which of course wasn't true at all); and James....James heartbeat quickened and he felt his throat constrict when he saw her, but on the _outside_ he just met her eyes for a barely perceptible moment before nodding ("Evans."). Then Lily began to fiddle with her wand as she stood there awkwardly for a moment, reddening under the stares of the four boys.

"Erm....I have to go....find Arabella," she said finally, and James let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "So....no pranks on the train, okay? I'm a prefect, now, you know," she said weakly, pulling a silver badge out of the pocket of her jeans; she hadn't changed into her school robes yet.

And with that Lily turned and was enveloped in the crowd of students, leaving behind her four very dazed Marauders. "So. That's Lily, then," said Remus finally, not voicing his thoughts but knowing what the others were thinking. Sirius was more blunt about it:

"Damn," he said, leaning back on one of the station walls for support. "She....she's....she's a fucking goddess." Sirius' eyes glazed over as he imagined Lily on the muggle beaches that summer....in a bikini. He licked his lips without realizing it, at which point James finally spoke up:

"Get a grip, Sirius," he said more angrily than he meant to. "You know you can't have her; she's _Lily Evans_, straight-laced, smart-ass, hot-tempered, _prefect_ Lily Evans....so stop thinking that; it'll never happen."

Sirius was not used to being told that something would _never happen_ with a girl; he raised an eyebrow and turned to James. "I take that as a challenge," he said with a smirk.

"No you don't," said James quickly, paling a little. "You heard what I said; you don't even like being around her, and all she ever does when she sees you is argue."

"I like a girl who can hold her ground, stand up for herself," said Sirius staunchly.

"She's too smart for you, anyway," said James. "You're too immature for her; besides, she's virginal, and it looks like she wants to keep it that way."

"Hm," said Sirius contemplatively. "A girl has yet to resist my charms....and I think I'd like a _virginal_ girl, especially after that whore Eva Malfoy."

"Sirius, don't use Evans like a prize, like a challenge," said James seriously, with a hint of pleading almost imperceptible in his voice, but his eyes hard and his jaw set.

"What's this, James? Are you feeling something for Evans? Or, more likely, are you just going _soft_?" Sirius taunted.

James' eyes flashed darkly, but then his trademark stubbornness and pride flared up in him; he refused to be softened by a girl—he was a _Potter_, after all; girls were supposed to go soft for _him_. So, putting all better judgement aside, James gave in. "Fine, Sirius," he said lazily, as if he couldn't care less, "try to get Evans to go out on a date with you on her own free will; that means no bribes, threats, blackmail, or anything else....uncouth, all right? So here's the deal, Sirius: if you can't take Evans out on a date by winter break, you have to....do all of our Divination homework for the rest of the year."

Remus, who hadn't spoken at all throughout the whole ordeal, let out a slow whistle. "Ouch, Sirius," said Remus, "the stakes are high; that could be quite painful." But Sirius ignored Remus; a glint was in his eye.

"And if I _do_ take Evans on a date before winter break...." began Sirius.

"You won't," said James definitively, though there was a small sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "There's no way in hell."

"Yeah, yeah, James. Sure," said Sirius. "But if—hypothetically—she for some reason went out on a date with me, then you, my friend, have do something even better. Because of the odds all being against me, you know." Then Sirius whispered something quickly into James' ear, at which James' eyes widened and his ears and neck reddened.

"I don't think....I mean, that's a little...." said James desperately, nervously.

"Oh, ho, my friend, I thought it was _you_ who said there was 'no way in hell' Evans'd go out with me, eh? So you've got nothing to worry about, right, old boy?" Sirius elbowed James cheekily, smirking from ear to ear. James looked sullen, and still rather embarassed from what Sirius had said.

But the old Potter pride kicked in. "Fine," said James shortly. "But it won't happen. We're on."

"To Lily," said Sirius. "Because she and I are no longer on a last-name basis." James and Sirius shook hands, then the four Marauders boarded the Hogwarts Express. Their fifth year had begun with a bang.

**In the next chapter....**_the Marauders walk in on Lily and Arabella at the worst possible moment...._


	2. On the Hogwarts Express, Part One

Disclaimer: I own nothing, J.K. owns all. By the way, go to her website (bet you can guess the url!) for doodles and hints about the upcoming books, deleted details from the books, etc. Very cool, very big time-eater the first time you visit it. Anyway, I've been disclaimed now....

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

"Oh, ho, my friend, I thought it was you who said there was 'no way in hell' Evans'd go out with me, eh? So you've got nothing to worry about, right, old boy?" Sirius elbowed James cheekily, smirking from ear to ear. James looked sullen, and still rather embarassed from what Sirius had said.

_But the old Potter pride kicked in. "Fine," said James shortly. "But it won't happen. We're on." _

"_To Lily," said Sirius. "Because she and I are no longer on a last-name basis." James and Sirius shook hands, then the four Marauders boarded the Hogwarts Express. Their fifth year had begun with a bang._

**Chapter Two:**

**On the Hogwarts Express, Part One**

While the Marauders had been making their fateful bet, Lily was looking for Arabella Figg, to no avail. Hoping that her friend wouldn't miss the train, Lily reluctantly boarded the Hogwarts Express as the train whistles began to sound. Arabella was from a wizarding family, so her parents could bring her to Hogwarts if she missed the train; but Lily's parents had long since left with Petunia, so she did not want to be stranded at the station.

As Sirius and James closed their pact and boarded the train, Lily stepped aboard at the opposite end of the Hogwarts Express. She patiently made her way through the throngs of students until she found an empty compartment; she hoped Arabella would be able to find her there.

Minutes later, the door to the compartment was flung open and Arabella rushed in, her mane of brown hair flying behind her as she enveloped her best friend in a big hug.

"Lily!" she cried, "It's been too long! I _missed _you—everyone in Tahiti is ditsy and tan and _dull_...." By this point Arabella had sat down across from Lily, crossing her legs Indian-style and pushing her hair behind her ears.

"Whoa, easy does it, Arabella," said Lily with a grin; she was happy to have her best friend back, manic though she might be. "I missed you too....you know _you're_ pretty tan yourself—I hope you haven't gone bimbo on me over the summer."

"Ah, words of wisdom from my favorite pale-skinned friend," sighed Arabella with a smile quirking at her lips. "You look _good_, by the way. Taller, I think. And I like that sweater."

"You can borrow it whenever you want," said Lily. "It'd probably look better on you, anyway."

"Tsk, tsk—stop with the self-deprecation, already! Speaking of looking good, I've been trying to catch a glimpse of Sirius, but I haven't seen him yet today."

"Ach, don't remind me!" cried Lily. "I can't stand those boys! When will they grow up?"

"Aw Lily, you're too hard on them, you know. They just like to get a laugh....and we all appreciate it when they pull a good prank on one of the Slytherins."

"But not when they 'pull a good prank' on one of us!" said Lily, throwing her hands in the air. "They drive me nuts! Sirius is always making dirty jokes and James is always smirking and Remus is always smiling sardonically like he knows something we don't and Peter is always _whining_. How they all got sorted into Gryffindor is beyond me."

"Give them a break. At least they're not hard on the eyes," said Arabella with a wink. "So, did you have a run-in with them this morning? Because you are inordinately riled up about the Marauders, considering it's only the first day of school."

"Yeah, I did run into them," said Lily, rolling her eyes.

"Well, what happened?" asked Arabella with a grin.

"Nothing!" Lily groaned, "Sirius was just staring at my chest and the rest of them just eaked out 'hullo's and it was really awkward. I just _know_ they're already plotting something...."

Arabella just gave a little chuckle at her friend's malcontent, though she couldn't disagree that the two of them would probably be the brunt of quite a few Marauder pranks now that school had started again; they always were. "C'mon, Lily," said Arabella finally, "we'd better change; you have to go to your prefect meeting in a half hour." Lily assented with a nod.

....Little did Lily and Arabella know that the Marauders _were_ "already plotting something"—something that would cause more drama than the pranks of years past....

The Marauders, meanwhile, had already begun pranking the Slytherins; just now they had tossed a handful of dungbombs into Snape's compartment. As the four boys were laughing over such an easy victory ("we're starting out on the right foot, eh, boys?" yelled Sirius through his hysterics), James suddently froze.

"I think I hear McGonagall," James said. "We'd better evacuate the scene of the crime or we'll have detentions on our first day back."

"It wouldn't be Hogwarts without detentions!" said Sirius cheekily, but he nevertheless lowered his voice and followed James down the hallway. Remus and Peter were close on his heels.

Professor McGonagall's distinctive voice was now quite audible; she was closer than they'd thought. Without pausing to knock, James and the others burst into the closest compartment, Peter slamming the door behind them.

But when James looked up his breath hitched and his face reddened to match the flaming hair of the girl before him; for not two feet away, clad only in a black bra and panties and her ubiquitous disheveled red hair, was a very angry Lily Evans.

**In the next chapter....**_Lily's fiery temper flares, James feels regret, and Sirius is undaunted...._

A/N: First and foremost, thanks to my VERY FIRST reviewers, Kiliana Lupin and kluvhp....you're the first reviewers on my first story, which basically means you're my best friends now. It feels good to get such a quick response! Now, I know these first two chapters have been short, but I think it's better to post often and regularly than to post big long chapters twice a year....yeah, yeah, exaggeration, I know. But please review, because--as all you writers know and most of you readers can imagine--reviews are the fuel for our souls. They really truly do make us write faster, because we know that someone is actually looking forward to the next chapter....and we love to please. So just drop a line or two, or more if you want (wink, wink). It only takes a second, and you'll get your chapters longer and faster. So what are you waiting for; go REVIEW!! 


	3. On the Hogwarts Express, Part Two

Disclaimer: the earth belongs to J.K. Rowling. All hail....

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

_Professor McGonagall's distinctive voice was now quite audible; she was closer than they'd thought. Without pausing to knock, James and the others burst into the closest compartment, Peter slamming the door behind them. _

But when James looked up his breath hitched and his face reddened to match the flaming hair of the girl before him; for not two feet away, clad only in a black bra and panties and her ubiquitous disheveled red hair, was a very angry Lily Evans.

**Chapter Three:**

On the Hogwarts Express, Part Two

For a minute, the six students just stood there, thunderstruck. James was bright red but nevertheless staring with awe and desire in his eyes, his gaze pinned to Lily's creamy skin and round breasts; Sirius was looking hungrily, lustily at Lily, a low growl emitted from somewhere deep in his chest; Remus had quickly averted his eyes, but was still blushing madly; and Peter had let out a nervous squeak.

It was Arabella (luckily already in her robes) who broke the tension, by throwing a robe over the paralyzed Lily and stepping in front of her. Anger flashed in her eyes for her friend's embarassment, and she confronted the Marauders.

"Who do you think you are!" yelled Arabella. "You burst in here like you own the train without even _knocking_, you don't shut the door when you see that Lily's obviously _indecent_, and then all of you except Remus—for which, Remus, by the way, you have been redeemed of all prior evils in our minds—just stand here _gawking_ at her like your contraband "Playboy" magazines! You disgust me!" Having finished her speech, Arabella blew some angry air out of her cheeks and continued to glare at the boys.

None of the Marauders knew what to say. As if he wasn't already uncomfortable enough, James had noticed that his pants had become extremely tight; he was glad he already had his robes on, or else he might be victim to further fury. Worst of all, each of the boys knew that they were completely in the wrong, but admitting to mistakes was taboo for the Marauders.

Sirius was the first to recover: "Damn shame you're going to be covered up by those massive robes all year, eh, Lily?" he said with a lascivious smile. Apparently this was not the right thing to say, because Lily exploded.

"How—dare—you—even _attempt_ to hit on me?! Now, of all times!" she was spitting out her words like poison, and all the boys cowered. "You think that just because you're _popular_ your idiotic come-ons are going to _calm me down_ or _win me over_ or something? Huh? You know what? I'm a prefect; I'm taking fifty points from Gryffindor—yes, my own house!—and if I had the power to give detentions I would have you four—well, not Remus, I suppose—I would have you three scrubbing cauldrons into next year! You Marauders had better not come _near_ me or Arabella again unless it's to apologize, which I'm sure is a word not even in your measly vocabularies. Now leave!" Lily finished, pointing her wand at the door so it sprang open.

Wordlessly, the Marauders shuffled out the door and heard it slam behind them.

"Damn," said Sirius. "Looks like my task is going to be a little tougher than expected, eh, James?"

James nodded glumly; normally the news that Sirius didn't have a shot in hell with Lily would have made his day....but the situation dictated that James, also, had just ruined any sliver of a chance that might have existed for him to date Lily, and so he suddenly didn't care anymore about Sirius. He just got as close as he was ever going to get to Lily—it was all over.

Sirius, however, seemed not to notice James' somber attitude. "But then again," said Sirius with a small grin quirking at his lips, "I always have enjoyed a challenge."

Within the compartment, however, Lily was fuming. "I can't _believe_—and they just _burst _in—without—and then—they just—I can't—" said Lily, struggling to articulate her anger.

"Whoa, calm down, Lily," said Arabella. "Just think about it as being the same as if you ran into them on a beach, and you were in a bikini."

"I don't even _like_ wearing bikinis! You know why? Because I feel like I'm in my _underwear_!" said Lily loudly.

"Geez, Merlin you're loud," commented Arabella. "So fine, they saw you in your underwear, and I agree that I, also, would have been mortified in this situation. But—"

"There is no 'but'!" interrupted Lily.

But to Lily's chagrin, Arabella continued as though she had never been interrupted at all. "But," she continued, "you must concede that none of the boys were teasing you, because first of all, I do think they were just as shocked as you were, and _second_ of all, they really seemed to like what they saw." Lily reddened at this and looked even angrier, but Arabella hurried on before Lily could interrupt her again. "So, Lily, that is a sort of a compliment—albeit a perverse one—to be so attractive you cause the Marauders—the fucking _Marauders_, Lily—to lose the ability to speak, and to taunt. _That_, my friend, is quite a feat."

Lily felt confused. She had to agree that Arabella was right on some level, but none of her friend's strange, comforting logic could erase Lily's utter shame at being seen so, especially by the four boys she held the least respect for—and the four boys who would be sure to use their new, erm, _information_ to prank Lily in one way or another during the coming year. She sunk down on one of the compartment's benches, her robes billowing out around her, and buried her burning face in her hands.

"This is going to be an _awful_ year," she sighed.

**In the next chapter....**Sirius turns on the charm and James....smells nice....

A/N: I know, I know; time for the annoying author's note where I beg you to review. But notice the speed of my update? It's like with dogs: if you reward them, they continue the good behavior. So give me a biscuit! 


	4. James' Cloak

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. But wouldn't it be funny if J.K. wrote a story on fanfiction once? For the disclaimer, she could instead CLAIM, and write: I am J.K., and this is my empire. Ah, I'm so jealous. But read on and enjoy my feeble imitation.... A/N: First of all, I know I'm awful, having author notes before AND after the story, but....I feel just awful about not mentioning my lovely reviewers in my note at the end of the last chapter. I posted it late at night and remembered about a second after I uploaded it, but then I didn't want to go through replacing it with a totally different file, etc. etc. Maybe because I'm new with the site I'm just missing some shortcut way of editing chapters that have already been posted, but--long story short, thank you morning lily, xWaterChanx, kluvhp, and Kiliana Lupin for reviewing chapter two. You guys are the best. And you're not forgotten!! And to my other great reviewers from chapter three: potterishotter77, Tina, BeCkY6, lilred-07, CaramelD, MysteryQuill, and DeoxyriboNucleic Acid--you rock my socks.

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

_Lily felt confused. She had to agree that Arabella was right on some level, but none of her friend's strange, comforting logic could erase Lily's utter shame at being seen so, especially by the four boys she held the least respect for—and the four boys who would be sure to use their new, erm, information to prank Lily in one way or another during the coming year. She sunk down on one of the compartment's benches, her robes billowing out around her, and buried her burning face in her hands. _

"_This is going to be an awful year," she sighed._

**Chapter Four:**

James' Cloak

When the Hogwarts Express finally arrived at its destination, Lily and Arabella hurried through the torrential rain into one of the horseless carriages, taking care to keep the hems of their robes mud-free. When they sat down their hair was soaked dark and dripping, and their robes were clinging to their bodies. Lily began to shiver uncontrollably.

"You okay, Lily?" asked Arabella uncertainly. The rain was cold, but the air still held the warmth of summer, and their was no wind to chill them.

"I'm _(shiver)_ fine," rasped Lily, though she sounded anything but.

"I think you're coming down with something, Lily; we'd better get you up to Madame Pomfrey's as soon as we get to the castle."

"N-no," said Lily. "I don't want to miss the s-sorting, or the f-f-feast. And anyway, I'm a pr-prefect, so I can't sk-skirt my d-d-duties."

"Yeah yeah, Lily. No way am I letting you catch pneumonia before school's even started. I'm bringing you to the infirmary as soon as possible. In fact, I hope you aren't already too sick...."

"I'm f-fine," insisted Lily. "It's just that it's s-s-so cold."

At that very moment, the door to their carriage was flung open and in stomped four very muddy boys: the Marauders, to Lily's chagrin. It seemed, however, that they hadn't been planning on meeting the girls anymore than the girls had meant to meet them; for they each looked abashed (and somewhat scared) at the two people before them.

"Erm, sorry," said Remus after a moment. "We'll go find another carriage...."

But alas, at that very moment the carriage lurched forward and the Marauders had no choice but to settle in. Lily and Arabella were across from one another; Remus and Peter sat on each side of Arabella, while Sirius and James flanked Lily.

James was intensely aware of Lily's shivering body beside him, touching him. Only a couple thin layers of cloth separated his skin from hers. He shivered involuntarily, but for different reasons than Lily's.

When Sirius spoke, James—the person who knew him best—could hear that his voice was deeper and gentler than usual; he was turning on his charm that was like a magnet for all the girls at Hogwards. James felt suddenly and inexplicably angry at Sirius, although it had been him who had challenged Sirius in the first place.

"Hey, Lily," said Sirius softly. "Always seems to rain on our first day of school, doesn't it?" Lily nodded weakly, but continued to shiver uncontrollably. She had a pounding headache now and all her muscles felt sore; she didn't have the strength to tell him off for his rude encounter earlier in the day. James wondered why Sirius wasn't offering Lily his cloak; clearly she was cold. It made James cold and ill just to see her so, but he was too ashamed to offer her his own cloak.

Sirius continued carrying on a gentle, caring one-sided conversation with Lily that had only a vague trace of flirtaciousness. Lily felt her bones warmed a little by Sirius' words and his deep voice; he sounded so unexpectedly _safe_, like he was looking out for her no matter what. But no matter how warm his words were, her body was still intensely cold. She shivered again, and she shook so much that a long wet curl fell into her face. Gently, ever so gently, Sirius raised a hand up and plucked the curl from her cheek, slowly bringing his hand back to tuck it behind her ear again. His fingers lingered on her ear and her jaw, and he stared at Lily, and she began to melt under his gaze.

James could feel Lily's heart begin to drum and he saw her chest rise and fall more rapidly as Sirius touched her face. James couldn't stand it any longer; he jumped up suddenly from his seat, startling Lily and Sirius out of their trance so that Sirius' hand fell back down to his side and Lily withdrew a little, and cast her eyes down.

"Erm...." mumbled James, at a loss for words now that he had gotten the attention of the whole carriage. "You look cold, Lily. Here," he said, wrenching his cloak off his back and dropping it unceremoniously in her lap. He didn't want anyone to know how he felt about Lily, so he tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

Lily, surprised but very grateful, pulled James' cloak tightly around her shoulders and huddled into it; it was very thick and still warm from James' body; and it smelled like rain and soap and musk....and other things, warm and sweet and unidentifiable. Lily gave James a smile, her first real smile since the boys had entered the carriage, but James turned swiftly away to hide his blush. He sank a moment later back into his spot, but far enough away this time so that he was no longer touching Lily.

"Thank you," Lily murmered, but James did not reply. A moment later, Sirius resumed his talk to Lily, and she turned her back to James to listen to him more clearly. She noticed for the first time how wide and warm Sirius' dark eyes were, and how soft his skin looked. She gave Sirius a smile and James frowned unbeknowst to Lily....he sat in silence for the rest of the ride to the castle.

When they arrived at the castle, Arabella dismissed Sirius' offers to bring Lily to the infirmary, insisting that it would be better for her to bring her best friend up. So Lily, still wrapped in James' cloak, tried to ignore her pounding headache enough to follow Arabella up to Madame Pomfrey's.

Upon arriving at the infirmary, Madame Pomfrey immediately pushed Lily towards a bed in the corner, pulling a curtain around it for privacy and handing Lily a clean and soft but terribly old-fashioned nightgown, insisting Lily change out of her wet robes and cloak. Putting her wet clothes on a chair, Lily swiftly pulled the nightgown over her head and lay down in the bed, but she still felt awful.

Moments later, Madame Pomfrey bustled in with a cup of a foul-tasting potion for Lily to drink; the nurse told Lily that she ought to stay the night while the potion took effect, but she should be right as rain in the morning. Lily gulped down the potion and then lay back on the uncomfortable bed, still feeling oddly unsettled. The last thing she did before she drifted off to sleep was to pull James' cloak off the pile of wet things and pull it over herself like a blanket, despite its dampness; she found its warm smell strangely comforting, and it was so thick and soft....

**In the next chapter....**_James visits the infirmary and is met with a nasty surprise...._

A/N: Two orders of business today: first of all, feel free in your reviews (which I'm sure I don't need to remind you all to leave copiously--nudge nudge, wink wink) to leave ideas for encounters or twists and turns to come. I've got plenty of ideas, but I haven't planned the story out in stone, and I love fresh ideas--I want to write what you want to read! So feedback is great in that sense; tell me if you don't like something I'm doing, but then tell me what you'd like instead. Gotcha, sorry for preaching. Okay, and second order of business is to bring attention to that little line I leave at the end of each chapter hinting at what's coming up in the next. All right, I'm keeping those in, but I want to apologize ahead of time if I don't always follow what they say. They're sure to be correct if I've already written the next chapter, so I can check the little blurb for accuracy, but sometimes when I'm writing the story (okay, fine: ME) gets off on a tangent and I have to keep my planned plot (ha! plot! what plot?) for the next chapter. So I'll try to keep them accurate, but I make no promises. Sorry to keep you all (all three of you that actually read the author's notes--bless you); go and REVIEW!! 


	5. The Infirmary

Disclaimer: Consider me disclaimed. I'm too lazy today, but I still love you all. 

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

Moments later, Madame Pomfrey bustled in with a cup of a foul-tasting potion for Lily to drink; the nurse told Lily that she ought to stay the night while the potion took effect, but she should be right as rain in the morning. Lily gulped down the potion and then lay back on the uncomfortable bed, still feeling oddly unsettled. The last thing she did before she drifted off to sleep was to pull James' cloak off the pile of wet things and pull it over herself like a blanket, despite its dampness; she found its warm smell strangely comforting, and it was so thick and soft....

**Chapter Five:**

**The Infirmary**

By midnight, James was sure that everybody in his dormitory was asleep; he could hear regular breathing from Remus, intermittant squeaks from Peter, and long low growls from Sirius. James stepped quietly out of bed and hastily pulled on a pair of pants and a t-shirt; he looked briefly for his cloak, then cursed when he remembered he had left it with Lily. Considering how much she hated him now, he doubted he would ever see his cloak again.

With softly padding steps, James made his way out of the dormitory into the common room, then out of the portrait hole and down out of Gryffindor Tower. Fifteen minutes later, he found himself standing amongst the shadows in a wide corridor; across from him was his destination, the infirmary, but now that he had reached it, he was at a loss for what to do.

He didn't want to intrude any further on Lily's life; in fact, he wanted nothing more than to forget about her and move on to a fantasy that one day might be realized, but right now he wanted nothing more than to see her face when it wasn't glaring angrily at him....and he wanted to be sure she was safe, and recovered.

Setting his jaw, he walked swiftly across the corridor to the infirmary door. "Alohamora," James whispered, and he was satisfied to hear a _click_ from the lock. Ever so quietly, he turned the doorknob and stepped into the pitch-black infirmary. "Lumos," he said, this time almost inaudibly, and he held a hand in front of his wand so that the only light it gave off was a red glow through his skin.

There, in the back! There was a bed with curtains drawn all around it, and all the other beds were unoccupied. James approached it, and he was just about to pull back the curtains when he suddenly felt completely guilty, and dirty, and slightly voyeuristic. It was stalkerish, even! What kind of a creep spies on a girl while she's asleep, and ill, no less!?! But now he was there, and his heart was beating furiously; James pulled aside a curtain and almost let out an audible cry at what he saw.

For there, lying before him in a state of utter vulnerability and peacefulness, was Lily Evans. On the chair beside her bed he could see her jeans and t-shirt from the day before, as well as—he felt his heart skip, then quicken—her bra and panties. They....must have been wet from the rain, as well, he realized. He looked at the bed: Lily was sprawled on top of the blankets, her thin cotton nightgown riding up high on her thighs so he could see miles and miles of her creamy legs; her red curls were splayed about the pillow around her head like a halo, and her eyelids were fluttering in a blissful dream state.

And then came the biggest shock of all, for lying on top of Lily—being clenched tightly in her small white fists, scrunched up around her face so part was on her neck, on her chin, on her lower lip—was James' cloak! At this realization his self-control faltered for a moment, and a sharp gasp escaped his lips. He froze; Lily murmered something in her sleep and turned, pulling up her legs so she lay in the fetal position; she pulled his cloak more tightly around her and sighed into it.

A million thoughts were running through James' head, foremost of which was: did this mean he might still have a chance with Lily? He backed up slowly until he had only to pull shut the curtains, and he would be safe and out of the way. But James wanted to see Lily's sweet face one more time before he left; he wanted to burn the image into his brain so he could think of her like this later; he realized, with a strange jolt, that he wanted every night of his life to be like this: he wanted Lily's face to always be the last thing he saw before he fell asleep.

He glanced longingly at her one more time; she was murmering again....what was she saying? Involuntarily, he leaned forward a little....she was saying the same thing over and over; what was it? She moved the cloak a little so it was no longer blocking her mouth, and then suddenly he could hear her words:

"Sirius....Sirius....Sirius....Sirius...."

James felt his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach, and he turned and fled the infirmary.

**In the next chapter....**_James saves a damsel in distress...._

A/N: Nothing too important today, except I need your opinions on something: do you all want to see more of Remus in the story? Should I bring in the whole werewolf plotline and give him a romantic interest, etc.? I've got some vague ideas muttering things in my head, but I'd like some input from the only people who really matter in the world--my beautiful reviewers! So let me know.... 


	6. Malfoy's Malice

Disclaimer: Do you honestly think that if I were J.K. Rowling, I would be writing fanfiction right now? I should certainly hope not—I would be slaving to finish "Half Blood Prince" (did you all know that's the name of Book 6?) at the speed of light. Or at least in a decade or so. So to answer the burning question: no, I am not J.K.

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

_He glanced longingly at her one more time; she was murmering again....what was she saying? Involuntarily, he leaned forward a little....she was saying the same thing over and over; what was it? She moved the cloak a little so it was no longer blocking her mouth, and then suddenly he could hear her words:_

"_Sirius....Sirius....Sirius....Sirius...."_

_James felt his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach, and he turned and fled the infirmary._

**Chapter Six:**

**Malfoy's Malice**

Lily awoke in the morning when the hot September sun slanted across her face. She started when she saw her surroundings, before she remembered Arabella bringing her into the infirmary the night before. She had dreamed that Sirius had given her his cloak, and that he had sat by her all night long, smoothing the damp hair out of her face and squeezing her hand.

She shifted uncomfortably; she shouldn't be having those kinds of thoughts about one of the _Marauders_, of all people! Then Lily got the second shock of the morning when she looked down to find herself clutching what was definitely a boy's cloak. Sirius'? But no—now she remembered....James had felt obligated to throw his own cloak stiffly to her when she had been shivering in the carriage.

She glanced at the clock and saw it was almost seven; being an early bird and wanting to be on time for her first day of classes, Lily stepped out of bed to her clothes. She soon realized, to her dismay, that the clothes on the chair were of course her damp and muddy muggle clothes from the night before; all her robes and trunks had been sent to her dormitory.

She was wearing only a thin nightgown, so she threw James' robe around her and tied her messy hair up in a ponytail. She bundled the rest of her clothes into a ball and held them close to her as she hurried out of the infirmary. She hoped she wouldn't run into anyone on the way to her dormitory, because she didn't want to start any back to her dormitory early in the morning, wearing a boy's cloak, hair messy, clutching a bundle of clothes....Eurgh.

Unfortunately, Lily was soon met with the person she wanted to see least: Lucius Malfoy. He sauntered towards Lily, looking like Christmas had come early.

"Looking good, Mudblood," said Malfoy, licking his lips. Lily was struck suddenly with how similar Malfoy's comments were to Sirius', but how Malfoy's words were laden with so much more malice.

"Go back to the dungeons, Malfoy," Lily snapped with as much force as she could muster in her weak, tired state.

"Ooh, Mudblood wants to hurry back to her rooms before a _teacher_ catches her in such an....indecent....state. Who was the lucky boy, Evans? Was it your first time?"

"Merlin! Just....fuck off, okay Malfoy? I was in the _infirmary_, for heaven's sake!"

"Then why are you wearing a man's cloak, eh Lily? Seems pretty incriminating to me."

"Someone gave it to me on the way to school because I was really cold and _ill_! Just....leave me alone, okay?" But Malfoy was no longer listening to Lily's words, because his eyes were fastened to something in her bundle of clothes.

"You're not wearing any _underwear_, Evans?" Malfoy let out a long, low whistle. He began advancing on her like a predator, his hands twitching. "Don't make a sound, Evans," he said, "or I'll make this situation a _lot_ more uncomfortable for you." "There are bound to be teachers about," gasped Lily, feeling horribly frightened.

"I'll be quick," said Malfoy greasily. He pulled the cloak violently off Lily's shoulders, leaving her in only her thin nightgown. Malfoy smirked, but true to word, he didn't waste any time now with comments. His eyes were dark with lust and malice. Lily whimpered. Malfoy bent down and now his twitching, eager hands were at the hem of her nightgown. Now they were under it, they were traveling up her legs, up her thighs, until the nightgown was bunched up by her hips. His hands ran hungrily over her hips, her stomach, he kneaded her buttocks, his hands traveled over her waist and back and finally up to her breasts. He began to grope them disgustingly, and though Lily was kicking at him and trying to scratch and bite, she couldn't reach her wand and she knew he wasn't lying when he warned her not to yell.

Lily whimpered and gasped, and then suddenly she saw a tall boy with messy dark hair round the corner at the far end of the corridor. James' head was down and he was staring vacantly at the floor; he hadn't been able to sleep all night because he'd been thinking of Lily, and now he was trying to distract himself by thinking of plays for the upcoming Quiddich match against Slytherin.

Lily finally managed to gasp out: "Potter!" in desperation, and his head snapped up. There, at the end of the corridor, was the one person who had been occupying his mind all night, being groped—he hoped not more—by the one person he hated enough to _Avada Kedavra_.

"Li-Evans!" he cried out, breaking into a sprint. In moments, he was by them, wand out and pointed at Malfoy's throat. "Let go of her," he said coldly (and, Lily thought, with even more menace than Malfoy had used earlier), averting his eyes from the bunched-up nightgown. Malfoy's hand dropped and Lily hurried to straighten the nightgown. Then she bent to the ground to gather up her fallen clothes—and underwear—and James' cloak, he noticed.

"I would kill you, Malfoy," rasped James, "but then I would be expelled. So I will leave you instead with the warning that if you ever touch Evans again, you might find one Quiddich game that your broom has a mysterious and fatal curse set on it, or you might get food poisoning at your next meal, or—"

"Yeah, I get the point, Potter," said Malfoy harshly. "But what's it to you, anyway? She your girlfriend or something?"

"No!" said Lily and James quickly, and at the same time. James continued:

"I just don't like to see your dirty hands on anything that belongs to Gryffindor," he said.

"Aw, let it up, Potter," said Malfoy. "Come on, no one's around....you want to give her a try? _I_ won't tell, you know that." James looked at Lily.

"Potter, no!" she gasped, unable to believe that he would sink to that level. But Malfoy spoke before James could reply.

"I was only feeling her up for a few minutes," said Malfoy, "but I have to tell you: for a Mudblood, she's a fucking goddess." James glared at Malfoy with unbelievable hatred in his eyes. "Come on," Malfoy goaded, "just give her a feel; I can see you're lusting after her....this is probably your only chance."

Suddenly James came to his senses just in time; his anger was threatening to get out of control and if he'd left it much longer, he probably would have lunged at Malfoy and killed him the old-fashioned way—with his bare hands.

"You fucking rapist!" he yelled at Malfoy. "Get to the dungeons now, you pervert, you disgusting piece of filth. I might think Evans is pretty, but if you ever for _one moment_ thought that I would sink to your level for a little bit of fucking satisfaction, then you're even stupider than I thought! I, at least, can get girls the _normal_ way!" With that, James brandished his wand once more at Malfoy, pointing it this time at his forehead. "Go," snarled James, and Malfoy ran as fast as he could down the corridor and away.

James turned finally to Lily, after watching for a minute to make sure Malfoy was indeed gone. James' face was red with anger, but his state was nothing compared to that of Lily. Her face was deathly white—she was past embarassment, past shame, and into shock—and her eyes wide with fear; she clutched her clothes to her chest like a drowning man would clutch a life preserver; and she was trembling like a leaf.

"Evans," James said softly, still not willing to call her Lily.

Lily's eyes welled up and a single tear fell down her cheek. "Oh, my God...." she said in a shaking voice. "....oh, my God...." James didn't know what to say.

"He's gone now," he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice and not an angry one. "And at least....I mean, he didn't go past....groping and things, right?"

"What do you mean, _at least_?" said Lily angrily.

"Well," said James uneasily, "he might have gone further—"

"Listen, I've—I have—well, I _had_ never been that far before, okay? I mean, I've never even had a _boyfriend_."

James' eyes widened in surprise. "I'm sorry," he muttered, "I didn't know that."

"Of _course_ you didn't know that!" said Lily angrily. "Well, at least he didn't _kiss_ me."

James' eyes widened further. Oh Merlin, he didn't want Sirius _doing_ things to her! He didn't before, but now....not only was she a virgin, she was completely untouched. Sirius wouldn't be gentle with her; he didn't know how to be. He was used to being with _experienced_ girls; Merlin, what if Sirius were to hurt her by accident? No, Sirius wouldn't be gentle with her....

"I'm—I'm sorry...." James stuttered. "Can I—is there anything—?"

"Here's your cloak," said Lily angrily, throwing it at him. She wasn't angry at _him_, but she was angry nevertheless, and he was the only person she could lash out on.

James looked rather stricken at her harsh tone, and rightfully so; he had just saved her from the ravages of Malfoy—an action for which James would surely be punished by the Slytherins for weeks to come—and she _yells_ at him?

"Erm....I hope you feel better," said James awkwardly. "Do you....want me to walk you back to the Tower?" James reddened when he said this, but he didn't falter. "Though I don't think Malfoy will be bothering you again soon," he quickly reassured her. "But nevertheless...."

"I'll be fine," said Lily shortly. She turned and headed off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. James didn't move. After a couple of steps, Lily stopped and turned around again. "And Potter?" she said, "please don't tell anyone about this....not even a teacher." She sounded pleading.

"But why?" James asked. "Don't you want Malfoy to be punished?"

Lily faltered now, but she answered him nonetheless. "I'm scared that he might get angrier if I tell someone, and hurt me," she said quietly. "But I've been scared before; I can handle that. More than that....I'm ashamed of what happened....of what he did to me....of how weak I am, apparently. I always thought I could fend for myself...." Her voice trailed off and she looked lost, forlorn. It made James' heart hurt.

"Okay," he said simply. "You have my word."

Lily gave him a smile, albeit a weak one—but it was real, and it warmed James' heart. It scared him, because he felt like he would promise her anything in the world if she would smile like that at him—at _him_ alone—again.

"And—thanks for the cloak, Potter," she said finally, before turning and walking swiftly out of sight. James stayed where he was and let out a great sigh. He looked down and saw he was still holding his cloak weakly in his hands, from when Lily had thrown it to him earlier. He held the folds to his face and inhaled deeply; it smelled intoxicatingly of Lily: a vaguely sexy perfume, fresh-smelling shampoo, clean rain, soft skin, a little sweat, a little like the chocolate Madame Pomfrey must have given her. It smelled so comforting and soft and sexy and like _Lily_....he never wanted to let it go.

**In the next chapter....**_Sirius tells James about his feelings for Lily, and James feels....guilty?_

A/N: You reviewers are more beautiful than Johnny Depp. Okay, no, nobody can eclipse his beauty, but you are still my favorite people because J.D. doesn't write me nice notes all the time. I love your input; you keep me writing at my computer even when my eyes are drooping like a bloodhound's. How's that for love? Now go keep up your side of the bargain!


	7. Sirius and James

Disclaimer: And J.K. hast created Harry Potter. And thus she was disclaimest, and it was good. Ha ha, enjoy the story, folks.

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

_Lily gave him a smile, albeit a weak one—but it was real, and it warmed James' heart. It scared him, because he felt like he would promise her anything in the world if she would smile like that at him—at him alone—again._

"And—thanks for the cloak, Potter," she said finally, before turning and walking swiftly out of sight. James stayed where he was and let out a great sigh. He looked down and saw he was still holding his cloak weakly in his hands, from when Lily had thrown it to him earlier. He held the folds to his face and inhaled deeply; it smelled intoxicatingly of Lily: a vaguely sexy perfume, fresh-smelling shampoo, clean rain, soft skin, a little sweat, a little like the chocolate Madame Pomfrey must have given her. It smelled so comforting and soft and sexy and like Lily....he never wanted to let it go.

**Chapter Seven: **

**Sirius and James**

That day was the first day of classes, and although James and Lily had all the same classes, they didn't speak once. Their last class of the day was Transfiguration, so Gryffindors had the whole afternoon and evening to enjoy the grounds and reacquaint themselves with their classmates.

The four Marauders walked out onto the grounds together, and as soon as James felt the hot sun on his face he knew that the only thing he wanted to do right then was—

"Quiddich!" cried Sirius happily. It's perfect weather—James, you could see the snitch a mile away in this air!—and Slytherins still have Care of Magical Creatures, so they won't bother us on the pitch. Come on, guys, two on two!"

"Erm....I have to...." said Peter, mumbling something incoherent. The others nodded knowingly; Peter hated flying.

"You in, Moony?" Sirius asked Remus. Remus wasn't on the Quiddich team with Sirius and James, but he was an excellent Chaser nonetheless.

"Not today, guys," said Remus apologetically. "I've been feeling a little....under the weather, recently. I'd rather not."

"Okay," said James. "We'll see you in the common room in a couple hours, then?" Remus nodded before setting off back towards the castle.

"Guess it's just us two," said Sirius. He grinned, turning to James. "Race you to the pitch!" he said, and they were off.

In a matter of minutes, they had both retrieved their broomsticks from the locker rooms and were sailing through the air, tossing a quaffle to one another and generally horsing around.

"So, where were you last night, Prongs?" Sirius asked, diving to catch the quaffle. James stiffened on his broomstick, but his expression remained controlled.

"What do you mean?" asked James.

"Aw, come on, James," said Sirius. "We're like brothers; you don't think I notice when you sneak out at night?"

"You were asleep!" said James.

"Yeah, operative word being _were_. You're _loud_, you know; I'm surprised you didn't wake up the whole Tower!"

"I was _not_ loud," hissed James.

"Well, you weren't werewolf loud but you were, say, _creaky floorboards_ loud." Sirius smirked; James winced. "So?" asked Sirius, "who's the lucky girl? Did you finally—"

"Shut up!" interrupted James, tossing the quaffle back to Sirius. "Stop assuming things. I just couldn't sleep. Went for a walk around the castle."

"Hm," said Sirius in a voice that showed he didn't believe James at all. "Fine, keep your secret, if you must. But you have to tell me who this girl is _sometime_ soon; I don't want to hit on her by mistake!"

_Ah, the irony_, thought James grimly, but he said nothing.

Sirius, sensing that the conversation needed to take a turn, spoke again: "So, I had a dream about Lily last night," said Sirius, not realizing that he had just turned to the worst possible topic. James nearly fell off his broomstick in surprise.

"Wh—" James started to say, but he was at a loss for words. He looked at Sirius questioningly, not knowing how to word what he wanted to ask.

"Yes," said Sirius with a small smirk, answering James' unspoken question. "Yes, it was _that_ kind of dream." He had a glazed kind of look in his eyes.

James' eyes widened in disgust, but Sirius mistook his intense stare for interest in the dream. "Well, in the dream, I was practicing Quiddich out here all alone, in the rain, and she had secretly come to watch me....so when I landed I was surprised to find her soaking wet by the locker rooms....and I offered to help her take a hot shower, to warm up....and we took a shower together....and then we came out onto the pitch and I fucked her brains out in the mud, in the rain."

James finally found his voice. "Ugh!" he exclaimed. "Don't _tell_ me that kind of thing, Padfoot....you're such a pervert, don't _ever_ tell me about one of your dreams again. Ugh!"

Sirius looked amused. "Whoa, reign it in, Prongs," he said. "I thought you'd want to know that I'm making progress."

"Oh, come on, that's not real progress; that's in your fucking brain!" said James.

"Hm," replied Sirius in affirmation. "But when my _mind's_ in it and my _body's_ in it—which last night confirmed, by the way—then making it actually happen is easy as pie. You know, you should have given me more of a challenge, Prongs. Being betted to shag Lily is like a fucking reward!"

"Hey!" said James, something flaring up in his eyes. "I did _not_ bet you to shag her; I bet you to _take her out on a date_! Those two things are _not_ synonymous, you know. Not for most people, at least."

"Yeah, well I see the shag as an added bonus. For all my trouble, you know; for having to be gentlemanly all the time and buy her things, and all that." James' eyes widened; he hadn't known Sirius was investing so much in this. Most girls threw themselves at Sirius when he was just being his normal, immature, prattish self; James wondered if any girl had ever resisted Sirius when he was acting like a gentleman. _Oh, Merlin_, James thought, _what did I get Lily into?_

He suddenly felt a wrenching feeling in his gut. "Padfoot, I've got a bad stomachache—I think I'm going to go in."

"Suit yourself, Prongs," said Sirius, apparently oblivious to the sudden change in James. "I'm staying out here for a while longer."

"See you inside, then," said James, and he flew off towards the castle; he wanted to be alone for a while....he thought maybe he'd relax in the Astronomy Tower, which was never occupied except during the night for Astronomy classes or—er—_other_ activities.

James flew up near the castle, but when he got to the Astronomy Tower he found Eva Malfoy not only skiving off class but also—more offensively, for James skived off Care of Magical Creatures all the time—deeply engrossed in a makeout session with Archie Zabini. Quickly swerving off his intended course, James made instead for Gryffindor Tower, figuring he could get some sleep; he had slept fitfully the night before....

As he was approaching the Tower he heard girls' voices, and he could hear among them Lily's throaty laugh. He flew towards the window of the girls' dormitory, intending to ask Lily how she was feeling; but when he was near enough to discern words, he heard someone say "James," and he stopped stock-still. Hovering right above their window, he listened....

After Transfiguration earlier in the day, while the Marauders had left for the Quiddich pitch, Lily and Arabella had gone up to their dormitories to catch up on all they had missed over the summer.

Arabella flung herself exuberantly down on her bed. "Oh, Lily, I've missed this place so much!" she said. "Our little dorm and the house-elves cleaning up for us and talking to _you_ and going to Quiddich games and using _magic_....I can't _believe_ how hard it must be to be a muggle. Not like you, I mean, but people who never get to experience this. This place would be magical even if we had no wands—all the people and the classes and the castle...." Arabella's voice trailed off and Lily chuckled, sitting down on her own bed.

"Arabella, you're rhapsodic about this place!" exclaimed Lily. "Miss it much?" She paused, then spoke more seriously: "You're right, though," said Lily. "I don't know what I'd do—what I'd be—without Hogwarts, without my friends here and my classes. It feels more like home than London ever did."

"I know," sighed Arabella. The two girls talked quietly for a while about their homes, their families, and their muggle friends. Arabella told Lily about her summer trip to France with her parents ("it has a certain _je ne se pas_") and then Lily ranted about Petunia ("she has such a toxic personality I hope she might poison herself and save me the work!"), and about _not_ being in France. Time passed, and then the subject shifted to the coming year.

"But this year...." began Lily uncomfortably, "everything seems different."

"How so?" asked Arabella.

"Well, everybody has been acting different towards me," said Lily quietly. "Especially Sirius and James."

....And this was the point at which James heard his name and stopped to hover on his broom just above the window of the girl's dormitory of Gryffindor Tower. He felt guilty and egotistical and vaguely perverted to be listening to Lily as she confided in Arabella (about _him_! About _him_?), but his curiosity got the better of him....

**In the next chapter....**_James hears Lily's thoughts on Sirius and himself, and something Lily says makes him smash his fist into the stone Tower...._

A/N: I know a lot of writers respond to individual reviews in each chapter....how do you all feel about that? I most certainly read every single review, but do you all want responses? I can make an effort to do that, but that would mean a longer wait for each chapter. Your call; let me know and I'll see what the general consensus is. As it stands now, I think I'm going to just mention my star reviewers and just respond to commonly asked questions or opinions. But reviewers know best!


	8. Eavesdropping

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed; I own nothing, let alone Harry Potter and Co. Ach, let us have our fun with your characters, J.K.

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

"_Well, everybody has been acting different towards me," said Lily quietly. "Especially Sirius and James."_

....And this was the point at which James heard his name and stopped to hover on his broom just above the window of the girl's dormitory of Gryffindor Tower. He felt guilty and egotistical and vaguely perverted to be listening to Lily as she confided in Arabella (about him! About him?), but his curiosity got the better of him....

**Chapter Eight:**

**Eavesdropping**

"What do you mean, 'everybody has been acting different'?" asked Arabella curiously.

"Oh, I don't know," sighed Lily. "It's just that....we've only been back for a day, but I've already had more than one run-in with the Marauders, and...."

"What did they do?" asked Arabella sharply. She was very protective of her best friend, and she suspected that the Marauders might have already latched onto Lily as an easy target for their pranks.

"Well, nothing _really_—but since I've come back....Sirius _complimented_ me, and he's suddenly really talkative around me....and I don't know, it's strange, because usually he's just teasing me...."

"Sounds to me like he's been _flirting_," said Arabella with a little grin. "Do you still like him?" At these words, James tensed.

"I, well, I don't know," began Lily awkwardly. "I mean, he's always just teased me....but he _is_ really handsome—" James clenched his fists "—and now that he's been nice to me....maybe he changed over the summer, I don't know...." Her voice trailed off.

"But do you _like_ him?" asked Arabella persistently; James wished she'd drop the topic, because he didn't want to know the answer. "Merlin, Lily; you've been _obsessed_ with Sirius Black since, what, second year?! And now he's _flirting_ with you and you _don't know_??!!"

"Okay, I _like_ him, alright!" said Lily with frustration. James' heart sank. "I just—I just don't want to get my hopes up or anything; I mean, everyone knows what a player he is....he's probably only paying attention to me because now I have breasts." James choked in surprise, though he had to agree with Lily on that point; Sirius _was_ a player, and ever since he'd glimpsed Lily in her bra on the train, he'd seemed a lot more interested in her.

"Well, you should talk to him!" counseled Arabella. "Maybe he'd ask you to the winter ball." James' eyes widened; this was exactly what Sirius was hoping for. Sirius didn't have to do _anything_ to get Lily, as she'd apparently been 'obsessed' with him since she was twelve.

"Merlin, Arabella—the ball isn't for months! A lot could happen between then and now...."

"Hey, Lily," said Arabella suddenly, as though she'd just remembered something. "You said James had been acting weird, too. How so?" James nearly fell off his broomstick in surprise, but his ears perked up.

"Well, James has been acting even stranger than Sirius!" said Lily; James noted wryly that she was referring to him as 'James,' not 'Potter.' The last-name basis, it seemed, extended only to their face-to-face arguments. Lily continued: "I mean, at King's Cross and on the train he hardly said anything at all—I don't know, like he was embarassed to be within ten _feet_ of me or he was latently angry or trying to avoid me or something. Which is weird, because generally he's the first one to start taunting me about ugly my hair is or how I'm an old bookish spinster, and all that, and—"

James drew in a breath; had he really said all those things? No _wonder_ Lily disliked him so. But then, Sirius had always been his partner-in-crime; what had Sirius done differently to gain Lily's interest? _Women_, James thought with a frustrated sigh.

"—And now he's just been avoiding me," Lily went on. "That's not to say I _mind_, of course; it's been nice to have a respite from his immature pranks, but it's nevertheless _strange_. And he gave me his cloak in the carriage, which was actually _nice_—he must have had some kind of ulterior motive—and on top of that...." Lily paused; even though Arabella was her best friend, she was loath to talk about her run-in with Malfoy. "....On top of that, Malfoy was....bothering me this morning and James told him off."

"That's really nice of him!" exclaimed Arabella. "See, maybe he's changed." James silently thanked Arabella for mentioning this, but Lily was quick to rebuke her comment.

"No, no, you weren't there, Arabella. The thing is, when he told Malfoy off...." Lily wished she hadn't brought this topic up in the first place; she felt awful to be gossiping here—and on the first day of school, too! Maybe he _had_ changed....

"Yes?" prompted Arabella.

"Well, when James told Malfoy off....he was really _frightening_. I mean, not just tough—it really scared me. I thought he was going to hex Malfoy into oblivion, right there—I thought James was going to _kill_ him."

"Maybe he secretly likes you, and he was trying to be your knight in shining armor," suggested Arabella. James, withdrawing his former praise for Arabella, now damned her for being so perceptive. Or was _he_ really so transparent?

"Don't be ridiculous, Arabella," said Lily with a laugh. "James has done nothing but make my life miserable for the past four years; I highly doubt he cares for me at _all_, let alone in _that_ way. In fact, he said something to Malfoy about only protecting me because I _belonged _to Gryffindor. Who does he think he is, anyway? Am I really some kind of object? But oh, I forgot; every girl is just a sex toy to the Marauders...." Lily spoke angrily now—she wasn't really so angry at James or the Marauders, but her emotions were all tangled up when she remembered what Malfoy had _done_ to her. It had been _Malfoy_, not the Marauders, who had treated Lily like an object, a 'sex toy' for his convenience. But Lily didn't want Arabella to know what Malfoy had done, and so she had to vent all her anger on James and the Marauders.

But now Lily's voice sobered, and she spoke again: "No....mostly, I was just scared that if James ever got that angry again....but if his anger were directed at me....Merlin, it seemed like he could strangle someone just by _glaring_ at me the way he was looking at Malfoy. It just—I don't know what to think. No fifteen-year-old kid should be so frightening...."

James _had _been that angry—but that was because of what Malfoy had done, and what he _might_ have done, to Lily. He realized now how he must have seemed to Lily; he must have looked like some deranged, furious boy with death in his wand. Oh _Merlin_, he had only made matters worse; now Lily not only hated him, but she also _feared _him....

"Lily, calm down," said Arabella soothingly. "You're trembling....calm down....let's go outside, don't worry, I'm here...." And with that, James heard the sound of two pairs of feet leaving the girl's dormitory and thumping down the stone stairs. What had he _done_?! He had made Lily _tremble_ with fear at the thought of him—but when he thought of her, he trembled with _desire_!

Angrily, James harnessed all his strength and anger and passion and punched his fist into the stone ledge above the Tower window. "Fuck," he said softly—not knowing whether he was cursing his smashed-up hand or himself or Lily—as blood now coursed swiftly down his crushed fingers. The bone of his knuckles showed white through his torn skin and his whole arm was lanced with unbelievable pain—but all this was preferable to the pain he felt in his chest....in his heart.

**In the next chapter....**_Sirius lays on the charm, and both Lily and James are having trouble sleeping...._

A/N: Everyone who reviewed is an angel: thank you, thank you, thank you! Remember, the more reviews, the more chapters....this is a mutualistic relationship (is that right? Damn biology....)


	9. Sirius Flirts

Disclaimer: I wish I owned James....but I don't, nor do I own any of the other characters in the story. Now enjoy!

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

"_Lily, calm down," said Arabella soothingly. "You're trembling....calm down....let's go outside, don't worry, I'm here...." And with that, James heard the sound of two pairs of feet leaving the girl's dormitory and thumping down the stone stairs. What had he done?! He had made Lily tremble with fear at the thought of him—but when he thought of her, he trembled with desire! _

_Angrily, James harnessed all his strength and anger and passion and punched his fist into the stone ledge above the Tower window. "Fuck," he said softly—not knowing whether he was cursing his smashed-up hand or himself or Lily—as blood now coursed swiftly down his crushed fingers. The bone of his knuckles showed white through his torn skin and his whole arm was lanced with unbelievable pain—but all this was preferable to the pain he felt in his chest....in his heart._

**Chapter Nine:**

Sirius Flirts

At breakfast the next morning, the Marauders entered the Great Hall to see that Lily and Arabella were already seated, munching on toast and looking at the _Daily Prophet_. Though the Marauders usually sat at the other end of the table, today Sirius made a beeline for the two girls. James grimaced inwardly, but he followed along nevertheless; he wanted to be there to make sure Sirius didn't get too out of line with Lily.

When Sirius sidled up on the bench right next to Lily, she looked up in surprise. "Erm—Sirius? Can I do something for you?" asked Lily politely, but in a voice that betrayed her confusion.

"No, Lily, we just wanted a change of pace this morning and decided to sit at this end of the table," said Sirius smoothly as he began buttering up a piece of toast for himself. At this comment, Lily craned her neck up to see James, Remus, and Peter standing awkwardly nearby—she hadn't noticed them before.

"Well....you guys can take a seat, then," said Lily uncomfortably, though she tried to put on a cheerful tone. "You can't eat breakfast standing up!" James sat directly across from Lily, and he proceeded to stare at her darkly, occasionally glancing to Sirius.

"James, is there a problem?" asked Lily finally.

"What? I mean, no—why?" stuttered James. Sirius looked at him curiously; James was usually quite suave around girls.

"Well, you've been staring at me for the past ten minutes," said Lily bluntly. "I thought....I don't know. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, yes. Thanks," said James hurriedly before taking a huge gulp of pumpkin juice, then coughing madly as he accidentally inhaled some of it. Lily raised an eyebrow at him surrepticiously before turning to Sirius.

"So," she said, "enjoying the change of scenery from your usual spot at the table?"

"Yes," said Sirius. "The view is much more beautiful from over here."

"Eh?" said Lily, quirking an eyebrow incredulously; it looked pretty much the same to her.

"My only complaint is the temperature," continued Sirius.

"Excuse me? We're what, thirty feet away from where you usually sit....and you can discern a change in temperature?"

Arabella bit her lip, though she wanted to help her oblivious friend out. James looked at the table and shook his head—he was partly embarassed for Lily, because she clearly had no idea what Sirius was hinting at, and he was partly glad that she wasn't falling for Sirius' cheeky charm. But he knew that Sirius would elaborate....

"Yes," said Sirius in reply to Lily's previous question. "Over here....it's much _hotter_."

"Huh?....oh!" said Lily as she finally realized what he was saying. She blushed beet red and suddenly became quite absorbed in the _Daily Prophet_. "Hm," she said in an effort to change the topic, "speaking of _temperature_, it's suppposed to be monstrously hot outside today....the _Prophet_ says it's going to set a million records."

"Ach!" complained Arabella, "I hate days like that, and in September, too! The house-elves always set the most feeble cooling charms, and we're not advanced enough to set up our own in the dormitories...."

"Well," said James, speaking for the first time that morning, "erm....well, you see...." He seemed to be tonguetied again.

"While James here is blushing like a schoolgirl and trying to be modest—for the first time in his bloody _life_, I might add—I would be happy to inform you girls that James can perform _excellent_ cooling charms. We all sleep quite comfortably in the boys' dormitories, even on days like this."

"You really can do cooling charms?" asked Lily of James, impressed. "Wow—that's advanced....I think only seventh years learn those, and most of _them_ can't manage to do one decently." James' neck and ears reddened further at this rare praise from Lily.

"Erm—well....our dorm was so bloody hot last year, none of us wouldn't have gotten any sleep, so...." James' voice trailed off.

But Sirius, ever the opportunist, was _not _at a loss for words. "Lily, Arabella," he said casually, "if you let us into your dormitory, I'm sure James would be more than happy to set a cooling charm around your beds....and in the bathroom....and showers." Sirius' voice faded as his eyes glazed over; he couldn't suppress his usual randy thoughts, and though he had been trying to remain "gentlemanly" for Lily, his barriers had temporarily crumbled. He was imagining the girls' dormitories—which were strictly forbidden to boys, and thus became all the more attractive in his mind—and what he might find there. His mental picture contained a lot of red lipstick and lacy bras strewn about (which, actually, was pretty near the truth)....but then again, his mental picture also saw the girls gossiping idly as they lounged nude on their beds, so maybe it wasn't so accurate after all.

"Ugh," said Lily, though she could barely contain a grin. "Get whatever sick picture you've just conjured up _out_ of your head. Although we would let you up, James, if it were possible—" her eyes smiled at James, "—you all know that you couldn't even get up the stairs, so it's no use."

"Ah, well....it was worth a try," sighed Sirius with a sweet grin at Lily before returning to his toast. Lily smiled fondly at Sirius and his cheeky flirting; Remus and Arabella both rolled their eyes; and James was looking rather annoyed at his pumpkin juice. Another day begun....

After classes that day, the Marauders made their way outside to prank some Slytherins while Lily and Arabella withdrew to the library; school had only just begun, but already they were overloaded with homework.

So the afternoon passed relatively quickly for both parties, and the next thing they knew they were finishing dinner. The Marauders had sat with the girls as they had that morning at breakfast, and the conversation once again consisted mostly of Sirius' persistent flirting with Lily. Lily was flattered by the attention; she couldn't believe that _Sirius_, her intense crush of the past three years, was actually paying attention to _her_. She hoped that he might ask her to the winter ball....

After dinner, however, Lily and Arabella found themselves back in the Tower and very bored, having already finished their homework for the night. They both eventually settled down on their beds, Lily reading a novel, Arabella, a magazine.

At ten o'clock, Arabella closed her eyes with a sigh. "I know it's not late," she said to Lily, "but I'm so tired I feel like I could sleep for a _year_. I think it's because I haven't had to do so much work and _thinking_ all summer!" she said with a laugh. "But seriously, I'm going to sleep. You might want to turn in as well, Lily—especially after your night in the Infirmary."

"Yeah...." said Lily with disinterest. "I don't know—it's too hot to sleep; I think I might go for a walk outside."

"Really?" asked Arabella incredulously. "You, perfect prefect Lily Evans, are going to sneak out of the castle after curfew?"

"Well it's not like I'm planning on getting _caught_," Lily huffed. "Besides, I can always say I was....looking at the stars for Astronomy, because the Astronomy Tower is always....otherwise occupied. It's no big deal."

"I don't know if I've _ever_ heard you utter the words 'it's no big deal' before," said Arabella. "But whatever. Live life dangerously, so I say."

"At least it's bound to be cooler outside, with a little breeze, than it is up _here_," said Lily. "I want _winter_!"

"Oh well, grin and bear it," said Arabella cheerfully; summer was her favorite season. "Now go on, delinquent; I need my beauty sleep!" And with that, Arabella flopped down on her pillow and began to fake-snore.

"Okay, okay!" cried Lily. "I'm out, I'm gone, _spare me the snoring_!" Lily chuckled and walked down the stairs out of the dormitory; the common room was completely dark and deserted—perfect. After glancing around guiltily once or twice, Lily disappeared out through the portrait hole.

After dinner that night, James went up to his dormitory and stripped down to only his boxers due to the excruciating heat (even his famed cooling charms had not entirely dispelled the warmth and humidity in the Tower). He had decided to crack down on his homework, because he at least wanted to begin the year on the right foot with a few of the teachers, and the O.W.L.'s were the coming spring. But at around ten, he triumphantly rolled up his last piece of parchment.

"Finished!" James exclaimed to Sirius and Peter, who were playing exploding-snap on the floor by James' bed.

"Aw, looks to me like Prongs is aiming to be Head Boy soon!" said Sirius mock-brightly to Peter. "Since when do you actually _do_ your assignments, James?"

"I don't know....I have to start off well if my grades are going to _fall_ over the course of the year, right?" James joked. "Otherwise, I might just be consistent...._consistently_ bad." Sirius chuckled at this, but Peter seemed somewhat confused.

"You have too much energy, Prongs," observed Sirius. "I'm _tired_—we got up so early this morning!"

"Yeah, well I only have this energy because we haven't had a bloody Quiddich practice yet!" said James. "In fact, I think I'm going to go outside for a walk." James didn't bother putting any actual clothes on over his boxers, but he did throw on a heavy black cloak.

"Good idea—count me out, though," said Sirius. "And bring the invisibility cloak with you, too, Prongs; now that Lily's a prefect, I think she might really crack down on our late-night escapades."

At the thought of Lily, James' heart skipped a beat, but he tried to act nonchalant nonetheless. "Okay, I'll bring the invisibility cloak," agreed James. Throwing the cloak over the cloak he already wore, he watched as he disappeared in the mirror. And without another word, he slipped out of the dormitory and into the common room.

But lo and behold, standing in the middle of the common room—and looking guilty, no less—was Lily Evans. James was still recovering from his surprise when he saw her red hair disappear out of the portrait hole....and of course he had to follow.

**In the next chapter....**_Lily and James go for a late-night swim...._

A/N: First of all, I'm so sorry for the huge delay on this; school just started and I've been mad busy (to know what I'm up to, go to my blog at But anyway. I've seen a lot of discrepancies in different L/J fics regarding....dun-dun-dun: the color of James' eyes. Blue or hazel? If it says _for sure_ somewhere in the books, let me know; you can also feel free to tell me if you just have a strong opinion about which it _should_ be, but if this is the case please let me know that it's not fact. If the books don't decree one way or another, I'll decide based on your opinions. Thanks, and sorry to be a bother! Also: do you guys notice my chapters have gotten progressively longer? Good for me; two pats on the back and a high five!


	10. The Giant Squid

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

_At the thought of Lily, James' heart skipped a beat, but he tried to act nonchalant nonetheless. "Okay, I'll bring the invisibility cloak," agreed James. Throwing the cloak over himself, he watched as he disappeared in the mirror. And without another word, he slipped out of the dormitory and into the common room. _

But lo and behold, standing in the middle of the common room—and looking guilty, no less—was Lily Evans. James was still recovering from his surprise when he saw her red hair disappear out of the portrait hole....and of course he had to follow.

**Chapter Ten:**

The Giant Squid

If James was somewhat startled at the idea of prefect Lily Evans sneaking out of the Tower after curfew, it was nothing to his utter astonishment when he realized that she was heading outside. He walked brisky along at a safe distance behind her, still veiled in his invisibility cloak and nearly exploding with curiosity as to why Lily would be outside in the middle of the night.

The hot breeze outside the castle did nothing to cool Lily, but it felt fresh and sweet. After making sure she was not being followed, she made directly for the lake, intending to dip her feet in and splash her face to cool off.

But when Lily reached the edge of the lake, she realized that she wanted nothing more than to go _swimming_....right then, in the Hogwarts lake. The idea of it was made all the more exciting because swimming in the lake even in _daylight_ was strictly out of bounds and because she was out long after curfew.

She glanced around her nervously (upon seeing this, James padded softly up closer to Lily, confused as to why she was acting so guilty) once more; rebellious as she might feel, she most certainly did not want to be caught red-handed.

Finally deeming the coast to be clear, she began to take off her clothes.

James was, needless to say, struck down with shock when he realized what Lily intended to do. He watched as she kicked off her school shoes and stepped on her heels to pull off her socks, leaving them strewn on the grass by the lake. And she was apparently not just going in for a wade, as she then began to slowly unbutton her white school blouse. James was aroused at just the sight of Lily undoing her shirt; she was effortless and composed, not hurried, and she was seductive without realizing it; but most of all he was turned on by her utter innocence and she undressed just for herself, naïve to how dangerous her body could be.

James felt his pants tightening awkwardly, and he had to repress the beginning of a moan that was erupting deep inside him. His face was flushed and he suddenly felt voyeuristic, but he could not look away.

When she was done unbuttoning her shirt, Lily slid the blouse off her pale, smooth shoulders to leave it crumpled in a heap on the ground. This was followed by Lily sliding off her pleated school skirt, and then she was standing by the lake-edge, seemingly at a loss for what to do. She still had on her underwear: a demi-bra and panties of painfully virginal-looking white lace. James ached for her physically, but he also ached somewhere deep in his chest.

Deciding not to ruin such nice new lingerie in the brownish water of the lake, Lily reached behind her back and began to unclasp her bra—

—But just at that moment James' modest and morality took ahold of him, and he lowered his eyes to the ground; he refused to demean Lily so, and besides....he could look at her as long as he wanted when he replayed his fantasies at night.

So when James looked up a minute later, he was half-frustrated and half-relieved to see only Lily's head and the tops of her shoulders above the water; he let a quick glance linger on her white bra and panties that lay discarded on the grass....She swam around for quite a few minutes, humming softly to herself and occasionally twirling in the water, allowing her long red curls to billow out like a mermaid's hair.

James, very much desiring Lily and feeling extremely uncomfortable about his position as voyeur, turned away from the lake. He walked as far from the lake as he could get without being completely out of earshot; he wanted to keep an ear out for Lily, at least, in case someone _else_ was wandering around at night and decided to....he shuddered even to think about it. So James had been sitting on the hot grass of the grounds, staring up at the stars in the tumultuous summer sky, for at least ten minutes when he heard Lily's first piercing scream.

James jumped up in a flash—the invisibility cloak still enveloping him—and ran at a breakneck speed for the lake. If something happened to Lily, and he could have prevented it....He didn't even have time to think, to rationalize. He reached the lake's edge and saw, to his horror, that Lily was being attacked by the Giant Squid in the middle of the lake. Without a moment's hesitation, James tore off the invisibility cloak and the other cloak, grabbed his wand, and dove into the deep, cold waters of the lake.

Within a minute James was close enough to see what was happening: Lily had swum out to the middle of the lake, and the Giant Squid had wrapped its monstrous tentacles around her waist. Now it was pulling her about, while she screamed and flailed futilely; occasionally the Squid would pull Lily under, and she would emerge a few moments later gasping for breath. _What can I do?_ thought James.

Treading water, he held his wand out in front of him. Lily saw him and her face flashed with emotion: first fear, then relief, then horror.

"Expelliarmus!" cried James with all his might. As Lily flew up in the air James mustered all his strength and concentration before yelling "Accio Lily!" Lily flew towards him and landed, shocked, in his arms. The force of it nearly pushed James underwater, but he was luckily well muscled from years of hard-core Quiddich practices; he braced himself and shifted Lily up so he had one of his arms under the crooks of her knees and the other under her shoulders.

James nearly gasped aloud when he felt Lily's cool, smooth skin slippery against his own warm, bare chest. He shifted her up again in his arms so that she could not feel his erection in his wet boxer shorts. Red with embarassment, his continued to avert his eyes from her naked body; he instead looked towards the shore as he began to swim—awkwardly beneath his burden and without the use of his arms—towards it.

When they were halfway to the shore, it seemed that Lily all of a sudden overcame her shock at being attacked by the Squid and then "Accio"-ed to James. Her head snapped up and her eyes widened as she stared at James. "Bloody hell!" she yelled—and this was especially shocking, as Lily never swore. "What—James!—what the _fuck_ do you think you're doing!"

James looked extremely taken aback and somewhat affronted. "Well, saving you from the Giant Squid, I think," he said nervously. "I heard you scream and—"

"Oh my—Merlin," Lily suddenly interrupted him. "I'm—oh fuck, Merlin...." Apparently she had just realized that she was naked and in James' arms; she awkwardly tried to cover herself somewhat with her arms, but it didn't do much good—and now she was in a horribly uncomfortable position, bent around to try to shield herself.

"It's—it's okay....Evans," James said. He had been about to call her Lily, but at the last moment he was too shy to. "I mean—I'm not looking at you, don't worry."

Lily looked as though she didn't know what to say, but true to word, James' eyes were trained firmly on the lake shore. "Thank you," she said softly, unconsciously snuggling into the safety of James' strong arms. But however unconscious this snuggle might have been on Lily's part, James was intensely aware of the increased contact between their soft skin; he could hardly bear it.

"Are you okay?" he asked with some effort. Now he looked at her, but he looked only into her eyes to see what _they_ told him, as he knew she would lie and say everything was fine.

"I'm all right," said Lily, trying to sound a little brighter than she felt. "I mean, it's not like the Giant Squid's ever actually _killed_ somebody, and I can swim."

"Hm," said James in response. Her eyes still showed a flickering fear, and her breath remained shallow; she was most certainly not all right. But her answer nonetheless surprised him—if she wasn't scared of the Squid, why had she been screaming for help? And, more importantly, if she could swim, why was she willingly allowing him to carry her, naked, to the shore? A warm feeling settled in James' stomach at this thought, but he certainly was not going to address it right then, with Lily in such a fearful and vulnerable position.

Throughout this exchange, Lily noticed that James was staring intensely into her eyes, his gaze not once flickering to her naked body that lay just inches away. Why was she letting him carry her like this, when she was perfectly capable of swimming on her own? Maybe it was because her muscles were still weak from her tussle with the Squid; maybe it was because she liked how secure and protected and warm she felt in his muscular arms; or maybe she just liked the earnest gentleness in his arms, in his voice, and in his eyes.

A minute later, James emerged walking from the water, and she really processed for the first time that he was only wearing boxers....soaking wet boxers that clung to every centimeter of his....anatomy. Lily couldn't help but stare as she noticed his hard, muscular legs and arms, his muscled stomach and indented hips (whereas hers curved _out_, not in, she noted wryly), his heaving chest glistening from the water, and his strong, broad shoulders. His messy hair was flat, for once, as it was plastered down wet to his face. He looked very....but suddenly Lily realized what she had been thinking about, and she snapped back to reality.

James set Lily upright on the solid ground just as she was exclaiming: "Aah! Potter, you're—!"

"I'll explain later," said James, reddening as he looked down and realized what Lily was shouting about. He bent down swiftly and picked up his cloak. "Here," he said gruffly; he walked over to her and gently draped the cloak over her shoulders and around her body, looking only at her eyes all the while. Lily was the first to look away.

"Thank you for the cloak—again," she said awkwardly, remembering how not too long ago she had slept with this very cloak. It still smelled warm and musky like before, she noted with a small smile in her eyes. "And thank you for....back there." Although she was vague in her gratitude, she meant to thank him for rescuing her, for carrying her in his arms, for averting his eyes—and for his manner in the whole ordeal.

But any traces of gratitude or even compassion towards James were erased almost instantly when she looked down and saw that James had a massive erection. "Potter...." she said warily, casting her eyes down to indicate where the problem lay.

"Wha—oh!" said James, turning even redder than before. He looked around desperately for something to cover himself in, but he only saw Lily's pile of discarded clothes and his shimmering invisibility cloak. "I gave you my cloak," he said weakly, "so I don't...."

"You were _naked_ under your cloak?!" Lily practically yelled at him.

"Well....not _naked_," said James uncomfortably, indicating his boxer shorts.

"Oh Merlin—no, it's the same thing. Why weren't you _wearing_ anything!" Lily asked, using a severe voice to mask her embarassment.

"It was just so _hot_ out—and I was only going for a quick walk," said James hurriedly. At the moment, he didn't care about what excuse he used; he was still aroused by Lily and was looking desperately for something he could use to cover it up. Finally, in desperation, James seized up the invisibility cloak and wrapped it around his waist; his legs and the _offending article_ disappeared instantly.

"Potter!" Lily cried. "What on earth?! You have an _invisibility _cloak?"

"Well, yeah," James muttered, abashed, but secretly proud of his most precious possession.

"Wait," said Lily slowly as realization dawned on her. "Why were you standing _by the lake_ in an _invisibility_ cloak when _I_ was swimming naked in it? Were you _spying_ on me? I thought someone was following me—I felt it!—but of course I couldn't see anyone. You bloody....peeping Tom....I cannot believe you would exploit a girl like that! I mean, I always knew you were immature and amoral, but I didn't think of you as sneaking and _immoral_ and I especially always...." She trailed off, looking stricken.

James felt sick; how had everything suddenly turned on him? Instead of somehow refuting Lily's accusations that he had been purposely peeping on her as she swam—which he had _not_ done, thank you very much!—James, in his flustered state, said the first thing that came to mind: "But it was a good thing I was there, wasn't it? I mean, if I hadn't been there, the Giant Squid might have...." He didn't even want to think about Lily getting hurt, so he didn't finish his sentence. "I _saved_ you, didn't I?"

This was apparently not the right thing to say. "Stop trying to turn yourself into the hero, Potter! Lay your precious ego aside for one _minute_, okay? You didn't _save _me, you took advantage of me when I was frightened and vulnerable!" Lily took a deep breath, trying—but mostly failing—to control herself. But now her voice softened, and she spoke once more: "I can't believe back there I was thinking about how _gentle_ you were being and how _safe_ I felt around you. You! I should have known that I can never feel safe around a horny prat like you!"

James could say nothing; he felt like he was choking, like he was drowing. She had thought he was gentle and safe! And now he had ruined all that....and now that it came to it, he wished he had looked at her at least _once_ while he had the chance, since that's what she thought he had been doing anyway. It seemed like now, he would never get a chance to see her naked again. Or to feel her skin on his as he had when he'd carried her from the lake. Oh....his heart moaned.

Utterly defeated, he looked Lily in the eyes one last time. Her wet hair framed her face like a painting, and her lip quivered; her eyes were full of fear. How had he managed to make her feel sad, and scared, and exploited, all while he was trying to win her over? "I'm glad you're okay, Evans," James muttered gruffly before pulling the invisibility cloak over the rest of him. And with that, James walked forlornly back to the castle, leaving Lily standing in his cloak once again, by the lake edge.

A few minutes later, James dashed a hand across his eyes at the same moment that Lily felt a warm tear roll down her own cheek. How had everything gone so wrong?

**In the next chapter....**

A/N: First and most importantly: a big hug to my terrific reviewers; I made this chapter LONG just for you guys instead of splitting it in two like I was going to. And thanks to the plethora of reviews, I wrote extra fast, too. Everyone keep on reviewing please! Especially now that school's starting and I'll have less time to work on the fic, your comments and reviews and suggestions are the reasons I'll make myself write another chapter when I should be studying for a Trig test (like Trig is more important than Lily and James' love life—bah!). So please please review....And for those interested in where the story's going: right now most of the incidents are tight-packed and full of awkwardness between James and Lily. It's supposed to show that their hormones are just beginning to heat up (they're only 15!) and the scenes should establish some social tension and some SEXUAL tension between the two. As time progresses, their relationship as well as those of their friends will develop more; I realize that as of now their personalities (and those of their friends) are pretty undeveloped. This was to first show you all how they interact and how IT ALL BEGINS, but I promise they will become real people soon. The story will cover their fifth year (including an—erm—_interesting_ winter break), their sixth, and their seventh (in which they are Head Boy and Girl, of course—with special dorms and a shared bathroom!). During sixth or seventh year, more serious things will begin to happen regarding Voldemort and Lily and James will become involved in the war, though they will still be at Hogwarts. It's possible that I might also cover time after Hogwarts until Harry is born, but that's so far on the horizon that I'm really not sure yet. Sorry to keep y'all; go review!


	11. Sirius Suspects Something

Previously in "The Strangest Courtship"

_Utterly defeated, he looked Lily in the eyes one last time. Her wet hair framed her face like a painting, and her lip quivered; her eyes were full of fear. How had he managed to make her feel sad, and scared, and exploited, all while he was trying to win her over? "I'm glad you're okay, Evans," James muttered gruffly before pulling the invisibility cloak over the rest of him. And with that, James walked forlornly back to the castle, leaving Lily standing in his cloak once again, by the lake edge._

_A few minutes later, James dashed a hand across his eyes at the same moment that Lily felt a warm tear roll down her own cheek. How had everything gone so wrong?_

**Chapter Eleven:**

Sirius Suspects Something

After that night with the Giant Squid, Lily and James avoided each other at all costs—James, because he was ashamed to see her; Lily, because she was disgusted with him. Because Sirius and James were virtually attached at the hip, Sirius had reluctantly followed when James suddenly stopped sitting with Lily and Arabella.

And while Lily was happy that James at least had the sense not to sit near her at meals anymore, she was hurt that Sirius would lose interest in her like _that_. Because he _had_ been flirting. And, Lily realized the more she thought about it, she really wanted to be with him. But it appeared that she had just been another flavor of the week....

Sirius, however, was just as confused about the sudden shift in James' attitude as Lily was. After James had pointedly steered the Marauders away from Lily and Arabella for the past six meals, Sirius decided to confront his friend about the issue.

"Prongs," he said, settling down with a heaping plate of breakfast, "why are you making us sit over here, _again_."

"What do you mean? We always sit here," said James innocently, though his mind was racing in an effort to come up with a plausible reason before Sirius caught on.

"Well we used to sit with _Lily and Arabella_, and now suddenly we're back in our old spots. Is something up?"

"No—I just....like it better over here," said James awkwardly; Sirius was bound to figure something out soon.

"Like hell you do," snorted Sirius. "Maybe you just—wait, I know!" he said suddenly.

James' eyes widened. "No you—" he sputtered.

"Ha! It's so obvious, I can't believe I didn't see it before!" cried Sirius. "But Prongs, I thought you were a better friend than that."

James' heart sank....Sirius knew. "Padfoot, I can't help it—" he began to say, but Sirius cut him off.

"Can't help it my ass!" exclaimed Sirius. "James, I will forgive that silly lie, but I _resent_ your using devious means to try to win the bet!" he said.

James gave him a questioning look. "The bet?" James said blankly; he had no idea what Sirius was talking about.

"Oh, come on," chided Sirius. "Just when I'm making progress with Lily you make us start eating over here so I can't work my charm on her! It's bloody _blatant_, James—be more subtle next time."

"Uh—" said James, speechless because of how wildly Sirius—his _best friend_, of all people—had misunderstood him. Under normal conditions, James would be offended that Sirius didn't know him well enough to understand what was happening, but at that moment, nothing could have made James happier.

Remus, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow at James while the corners of his lips turned up. _He_ knew....but then, Remus had always been more perceptive than Sirius when it came to matters of serious emotions. But Remus understood James' predicament, luckily, so he did not intervene.

James decided to play along with Sirius' misunderstanding so that Sirius would have no chance of suspecting the real reason. The rule with the Marauders was _no secrets_, and so James should have told Sirius about his feelings for Lily long ago. But more than that, James knew that Sirius would feel like he had been jerked around, betted to take Lily out while James was also pursuing her....all in all, the situation would be very ugly if it came to light....but James had no intention of bringing the situation to light, so....

"Yeah, well," began James nervously, "I wanted to make it a little more of a challenge, you know." Now that he had begun his tangled lie, James became more confident and smooth in his demeanor. "In fact, I'm surprised you're so dim, Padfoot, that it took you six meals to figure out what I was doing." James paused—_Merlin_: he'd been counting how many meals he'd been away from Lily?! He had to rid himself of this horrible infatuation—it was turning him into a stalker and an emotional mess.

"Aw, Prongs, that's okay," said Sirius amiably. "But, now that I know, I'm going to sit with the lady. Come on, guys; the jig's up." Sirius stood to go to where Lily and Arabella were sitting, but James didn't move a muscle. He still needed an excuse to not sit with Lily, he realized. He certainly couldn't sit across from her at meals.

"We're already here," James said shortly. "Let's just stay here for the rest of the meal. The girls annoy me, anyways."

"I thought you liked Lily," said Sirius. James started—_what_?! Did Sirius know? "I mean, you guys seemed to get along alright," continued Sirius; James let out a long breath—Sirius had meant nothing by his comment. "Why the sudden animosity, Prongs?"

"Listen, I used to think she was okay, but now I just can't stand her, okay!" James burst out angrily. "She's bitchy and she has a hot temper and she's _way_ too sensitive and she's a goddamn _prefect_, and we _hate_ straight-laced people like her, remember? And why do we want to even be with someone who doesn't like pranks and does all her homework and is still fucking virginal and...." James stopped suddenly; what had he just said? First he had been talking about all the things he used to hate about her that he now couldn't live without; then he'd been articulating all the reasons he _shouldn't_, logically, be in love with her—but despite which, he was—and then...._virginal_?! Why had he said that? That was why he didn't want _Sirius_ to be with her—what had he done? James held his breath and waited for it. It came:

"Virginal?" said Sirius with interest. "She's a virgin? How'd you figure that out—mmm."

"You fucking pervert!" said James. "You're disgusting; I don't even know if she's a virgin I just said she's virginal and why do you like that anyways she wouldn't even be a good shag and can we please just call off the bet?"

"You just know you're going to lose," said Sirius smugly. "And by the way, no one who looks like Lily Evans could possibly be a virgin, so stop wetting yourself with worry about _that_."

"But you said—you're so sick—why'd you—you wouldn't—" sputtered James.

"Oh Merlin, I was just kidding," said Sirius. "I may like a good shag but I'm not like _that_, okay Prongs? If I thought she were a virgin you know I'd have the decency to leave her be—I do have _some_ feelings, contrary to popular belief—but Prongs, she's not, she can't be, so don't worry about it. It is sweet, but don't worry. And I'm going to win the bet, by the way."

James' mind was reeling. There was no way he could tell Sirius that Lily was, in fact, a virgin, without relating the Malfoy incident, which he had promised Lily never to speak of. And he didn't want to lose her trust anymore, but—this was for her own good—but _no_, he had morals, and he _never_ broke his word. James pressed his lips together and vowed to end this horrible debaucle without anyone getting hurt. Hell, he didn't care if he got hurt, he didn't even really mind if Sirius—his _best friend_—got hurt; he just didn't want anything to happen to Lily.

"Aw, fuck...." James said sadly. Remus looked on with sympathetic eyes, but Sirius observed James gleefully:

"Told you you shouldn't have made that bet, Prongs," he said happily. "And I know you never break your word, so you carrying out your end of the bargain is going to be....unforgettable."

A/N: Alright, before I was able to hint at what was coming up in the next chapter because I would have already written the next chapter before I posted this one. Does that make any sense? But nonetheless, I'm now writing just chapter to chapter whenever I have time, so I will sometimes let you know what's up for Lily and James in the general future but not specifically in the next chapter. And thanks for all the great reviews, but certainly keep them coming. The only reason I get up these chapters so quickly is because of you reviewers. And I'm glad you all like the story--spread the word! 


	12. Remus

**Previously in "The Strangest Courtship":**

_James' mind was reeling. There was no way he could tell Sirius that Lily was, in fact, a virgin, without relating the Malfoy incident, which he had promised Lily never to speak of. And he didn't want to lose her trust anymore, but—this was for her own good—but no, he had morals, and he never broke his word. James pressed his lips together and vowed to end this horrible debaucle without anyone getting hurt. Hell, he didn't care if he got hurt, he didn't even really mind if Sirius—his best friend—got hurt; he just didn't want anything to happen to Lily._

"_Aw, fuck...." James said sadly. Remus looked on with sympathetic eyes, but Sirius observed James gleefully:_

"_Told you you shouldn't have made that bet, Prongs," he said happily. "And I know you never break your word, so you carrying out your end of the bargain is going to be....unforgettable."_

**Chapter Twelve:**

Remus

Remus was sitting alone by the lake, trying to forget about the full moon that night, and Voldemort's ever-growing legion of Death Eaters, and James' apparent infatuation with Lily, and Sirius' complete recklessness and obliviousness with his friends' emotions, and—

He was startled out of his thoughts suddenly when he heard soft footsteps in the grass behind him. Remus was surprised and slightly curious as to who would be approaching him here; Sirius and James both had Quiddich practice, and Peter was serving detention with McGonagall.

He turned slowly and found himself looking up at the redhead who had been at the root of at least two of his worries—both James and Sirius were oddly attached to her, now.

"Lily," Remus said politely by way of greeting.

"Hi Remus," Lily replied. "Can I join you?"

"By all means," Remus said warmly. Lily sank down on the grass so she was sitting cross-legged in front of him.

"Remus, is it okay for me to ask you something?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, I don't really know you too well, and it's kind of personal, and, well....I know I've been kind of hot-tempered towards you Marauders in the past, so I didn't know if you totally detest me."

"Don't be silly; we Marauders need someone to put us in our place every once in a while. You know, Lily, I think you're the only person—besides a teacher, of course, and the occasional arrogant Slytherin—who has dared to stand up to the Marauders. Very tough."

"Yeah, well, you put it nicely," Lily said with a smile. "James would probably tell me I was the only person stupid and vain enough to think that my reprimands would have any effect on _you guys_."

"I don't think James would say that," Remus said softly.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," continued Lily, anger and sarcasm growing in her voice, "he'd be too busy staring at my chest, and then he'd just say he was _gallantly_ saving me from something!"

"Lily, what are you talking about?" Remus said gently.

"He just—he just always wants to be the knight in shining armor, but he's really just a bloody pervert and deceptive...." Lily's voice trailed off; she looked close to tears.

"What did James do, Lily?"

"He....I don't know....he always tries to gain my trust—which is apparently way too easy to do—and make me like him, and then he just takes advantage of that and tries to turn every situation around so _he_ looks like the good guy and—"

"Lily, calm down," said Remus. "What did James do?"

Lily took a deep breath, and looked at Remus' open, sympathetic face. "I went down to the lake to take a swim at night that time when it was really hot and I couldn't sleep and I checked that nobody was around so I took off my clothes to swim but that pervert James was wearing a fucking invisibility cloak and he was spying on me just so he could see me naked and he wouldn't have ever let me know he would've just been a bloody voyeur happily except the Giant Squid attacked me so he jumped in and brought me out but I was naked and he was only wearing boxers and he got a fucking erection and...." Lily finally ran out of breath.

Remus' jaw had dropped. "Oh, no," he groaned. "Was this that day—that day when....and then when James came back, he wouldn't sit near you—"

"Because he saw what he wanted to and he got tired of it and went to move on to his next sex toy!" interrupted Lily. "Just like all you Marauders; that's all you ever do!"

"Whoa, Lily, when did the rest of us enter into this?" asked Remus.

"I just—I can never understand you guys; I begin to trust James and he just takes advantage of me, and then Sirius was acting strange around me and I thought he was flirting but then he just _leaves_ when he gets bored..."

Remus looked quite astonished; he couldn't imagine what she'd been through, her emotions being jerked around first by James and then by Sirius. But James and Sirius—these were his best friends, and they hadn't done any of this intentionally. How had so much occurred in less than a month of school?

"Lily," Remus said seriously. She was at this point in near hysterics, finally letting her bottled-up emotions out for the first time in weeks. But at Remus's tone, Lily composed herself with some effort, and took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry, Remus," she said with a shaking voice. "You shouldn't have to shoulder all my problems. I just—it's good to have someone to talk to."

"I know," said Remus, "and if you value my ear as a confidante then maybe you'll find a little solace in what I have to say."

"Yes, please go on," said Lily. "Merlin knows I could use some advice."

"I know James and Sirius better than anyone else in the world—in fact, sometimes I think I can see things about them that they themselves don't realize, or don't understand, or don't want to. And there's a lot to them, even if they might just seem like arrogant, superficial prats a lot of the time."

Lily let out a weak smile. Remus continued: "But both of them are heavily burdened—by family expectations, by their own aspirations, by conscience and by their values." Remus wondered how much he should tell Lily about his friends' heavy pasts; he didn't want to reveal more than was his place, but Lily was intelligent, and she needed to understand some things about Sirius and James.

"Sirius's family, the Blacks—it's a very old pure-blood family, and most of his relatives hold a deep belief in blood superiority. His own mother is one of the strongest supporters of the crusade to purge the magical community of all but those from established pure-blood ancestry, like her own." Lily was looking at Remus in horror.

"But Sirius," Remus continued, "he broke the mold. He was the first Black to be placed in Gryffindor in over a hundred years. His values differed enormously from those of Blacks as a rule, and he condemned his family's closemindedness and their cruel goals.

"And so his family disowned him. Last summer they burnt his name off the family tree, and he went to live with the Potters," Remus concluded. "He's an orphan now, for all purposes, and all because he wouldn't let his values crumble. But it's hurt him, deeply. To have those closest to you denounce you, disapprove of you, even _hate_ you—nobody could just accept that."

"That's why he never mentions his family," Lily said sofly. "I never knew." She was about to get up to walk back to the castle when Remus began to speak again; her eyes flew to his face, surprised—could there possibly be more horrors regarding Sirius's dreadful past?

"And James also is strong-minded, like Sirius," Remus was saying, "but for different reasons. James is sometimes hard-headed and wilful like Sirius is apt to be, but mostly—mostly he just wants to be chivalrous. He wants to be noble, to live up to the venerable Potter family name, to fulfill his father's lofty goals for him, his mother's hopes, to embody his own strong ideals.

"But he's torn. His father wants him to work for the Ministry—to be an Auror—but James doesn't want that. He wants to fight Voldemort, but in different ways; he told me once that he couldn't imagine anything more terrible than killing another, be it even the most rotton Death Eater alive.

"He's _fifteen_, Lily, and his father wants him to start the rigorous Auror training straight out of Hogwarts; he wants James weilding the Unforgivables by the time he turns eighteen. That's the only time you can use them, you know—on Death Eaters, or other followers of Voldemort.

"And James never wants to let his father down, because hard as his father might be on James, James loves him and idolizes him. But asking a son to possibly lay down his life before he turns twenty—and, perhaps more importantly, asking him to lay down the lives of others—it's hard to think of a father being able to do that." Remus sighed; he hoped Lily wouldn't be scared off the Marauders, with all this heavy history they harbored. Thank Merlin she didn't know he was a werewolf—that might prove to be one too many thoughts to handle. He knew, also that James and Sirius would not have appreciated Remus sharing their most personal intricacies without permission—but then, they hopefully would not ever need to know, as long as Lily kept this new knowledge to herself. Had he made the right decision, telling her all this?

Remus looked cautiously at Lily, and he saw her examining the ground very carefully. "Lily?" he said. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," she said in a strangled voice. "But I need to talk to James." Lily stood up and brushed the grass off her robes. "I need to—there are some things that need to be said. I think I've made a horrible mistake. I mean I—it was a misunderstanding..." Lily spoke quickly and confusedly, knowing full well that Remus probably had no idea what she was talking about.

"Lily, just—just don't mention James' father to him. I mean, I think—if he wants you to know, or when—he'll tell you himself. That's the way it should be."

"I know...Thanks, Remus," she said, but she was already making her way away from the lake.

"Wait," Remus said before she was out of earshot. He hated using Lily like this, but he wasn't going to see James before the Marauders congregated in the Shrieking Shack that night.

"Yes?" she said expectantly.

"When you see James, just remind him—that animals can be restless at this time of day. Say it's a message from me."

"Alright," Lily said slowly, though she wondered what Remus meant by his strange message. Coming from anyone else, she might have thought it was innuendo. "See you tomorrow, Remus."

And with that Lily set off across the Hogwarts grounds towards the Quiddich pitch; she could see tiny red-and-gold figures flying about, and so she guessed that James was at team practice. But it was getting dusky, so she doubted she'd have to wait long to see him. Thus resolved, she moved onward.

Coming up: the Shrieking Shack, an encounter with a stag, and more Malfoy. But not all in one chapter.

A/N: This was a slower chapter, but I think it established some basics about Sirius and James that I felt needed to be said. The next chapter should have some Arabella and I'll also try to insert a little L/J action (or at least some sexual tension) to satisfy you impatient ones. Don't feel bad—I'm like that too when I'm reading L/J stories—I'm always thinking: I know they're going to end up together, just make them kiss! So I'll see what I can do.

Finally, I want to apologize for the long wait...I'm really making an effort to write interesting and frequent chapters but it's hard to balance with school and friends. One thing that can tip the balance, however, is REVIEWS! Please please please let me know what you think, where you want the story to go, whatever... I like to know that people are reading, that all my effort isn't for naught. And I'll update as fast as I can! 


	13. The Quiddich Pitch Reconciliation

Disclaimer: It all belongs to J.K. Even my inspiration.

**Previously:**

"_When you see James, just remind him—that animals can be restless at this time of day. Say it's a message from me."_

"_Alright," Lily said slowly, though she wondered what Remus meant by his strange message. Coming from anyone else, she might have thought it was innuendo. "See you tomorrow, Remus."_

And with that Lily set off across the Hogwarts grounds towards the Quiddich pitch; she could see tiny red-and-gold figures flying about, and so she guessed that James was at team practice. But it was getting dusky, so she doubted she'd have to wait long to see him. Thus resolved, she moved onward.

**Chapter Thirteen:**

The Quiddich Pitch Reconciliation

By the time Lily reached the Quiddich pitch, the sun was half sunk behind the hills. She was glad when she saw the Gryffindor team making their way towards the locker rooms, and she jogged to intercept James—she wanted to talk to him alone, and this way the rest of his teammates would be busy changing and showering.

But when she reached the team, James wasn't among them.

"Hey Lily," said chaser Henry Spinnet with a wave. "What brings you out to the pitch?"

"Looking for James," she said. When Henry gave her a strange look she quickly amended herself: "I have a question about Transfiguration," Lily said quickly. This seemed to disappate any curiosity that had arisen amongst the Quiddich team, and they started back on towards the lockers.

As he was passing by Lily, Henry turned around and walked backwards, looking at her with an odd expression on his face. Then he gave her a small smile and pointed up at the sky behind Lily's head before turning back around and jogging to catch up with the rest of his team.

Lily turned to see where he had pointed, and sure enough, silhouetted against the orange sky, a figure swooped and careered in the air far off over the pitch. She knew at once that it was James.

Doggedly, but a little more nervous now that she knew for sure she'd be alone with James, Lily continued to make her way towards the pitch.

A few minutes later Lily stepped through the bleachers and onto the edge of the pitch. She hugged herself to keep from shivering, for the recent hot spell had given way to chilly autumn winds. Blading a hand above her forehead so she could see despite the bright low sun, Lily spotted James again. He was looping and diving, racing back and forth across the sky, high and low; he was clearly focused on his practice and he didn't notice Lily standing nervously at the end of the field. When she squinted, she saw with a jolt that James wasn't wearing a shirt. _Damn,_ she thought. _That is not going to make our conversation any easier._

But still Lily stood at the edge of the pitch, waiting for James to come down. She really needed to straighten things out, and when was the next time she'd be able to talk to him in privacy—talk to him without the other Marauders listening in.

Sometime during the time when Lily was watching James career around the field, he noticed her flaming hair at the edge of the pitch. _What does she—why is she—what have I done now?_ He wondered. As he tried to set his thoughts in order and calm his nerves, he started to do more difficult tricks up on his broomstick, intent on impressing Lily. He did all sorts of obscure feignts and maneuvers, most of which Lily grudgingly admired from her spot on the ground—but she would never know how very dangerous many of the tricks had been.

After about ten minutes, Lily could feel her fingers beginning to grow numb from the cold and she decided she'd just have to return to the castle; she never knew James was so involved in his Quiddich practice.

But just as Lily was turning to go, she heard a soft thud on the ground a few yards behind her. "Evans?" James asked a little incredulously, "what are you doing here?"

It took even the quick-tongued Lily a few moments to answer; she was too busy staring at James. The combination of physical vigor heating up his skin from underneath and the patchy redness caused by the cold wind (which was obviously much more intense when you were flying through the air at 60 miles an hour) made James' chest, shoulders, and face glow. His breath was still coming in pants, and his chest—covered with a light sheen of sweat—was rising and falling rapidly.

Luckily for James, Lily couldn't tell that his heart was racing not from exercise but from his close proximity to _her_ and his pink face was not ruddy from the elements but blushing furiously at the idea that she was staring quite bluntly at his bare chest. He suddenly felt inadequate and scrawny; James had less-obvious, rope-like muscles and he'd always been very thin and wiry as opposed to Sirius' brawny strength and more conventionally manly body.

"Evans?" James asked again. He looked at her: her wavy red hair was blowing messily in her face and her cheeks too were red from the cold wind (or from a blush?). He saw that she was shivering convulsively in her thin robes, and her vain attempts to warm herself were proving completely futile. Her lips were turning blue.

"Merlin, Evans, how long have you been out here?" he asked worriedly.

"Oh..." she began vaguely, still having trouble sorting her muddled thoughts. "I left the castle about a half hour ago but I've only been standing here for...20 minutes, I think. I don't know."

"You're shivering!—it's not _that_ cold out, is it?" James asked.

"Well it's...I'm cold-blooded," Lily replied. "I get cold very quickly."

"That's why you're always bundled up and drinking tea all the time," James commented absently.

Lily looked curiously at James. "How did you know that?" she asked.

"Well, erm..." began James, suddenly awkward. "We've been in the same house for a long time, Evans."

"Hm," she said, at a loss for a clever response.

There was an awkward pause, and then: "So not to be rude, but why _are_ you here, Evans?" James asked again.

Lily looked more nervous than James had ever seen her before. "Well, I just. I just needed to. I found out about something that. You see I was talking to Remus and. At least it seems that maybe." She was stumbling, stuttering, speaking much too fast. This was much harder to say in person—to a sweaty, shirtless James, no less—than it had been when she imagined the scene in her head.

"I think what happened was that." Lily tried again. She paused, then: "I'm sorry Potter, but could you _please_ put on a shirt?" She couldn't stand the distraction of his heaving muscular chest any longer.

James looked taken aback, then very abashed. "Right. Sorry, Evans, I forgot. I was just...it was a long practice, and so..." His voice trailed off again, and James realized that once again he was failing to be even the least bit coherent when around Lily. _She must think I'm dumber than Ralph Davies_, he thought glumly.

Then, remembering his objective, James cast his eyes around for his shirt. Over on a bench he spotted his old gray t-shirt. "Ah, there it is," he said with some relief. He jogged quickly over to the bench and pulled the shirt hurriedly over his head. He ran a hand nervously through his already scruffy hair.

"So. You're here because...?" James prompted for the third time. He was trying to be patient, but he was getting frustrated in his nervousness.

"Alright, here's what happened," Lily suddenly blurted out. "I know I made a terrible mistake when I yelled at you that time at the lake because you saved me from the Giant Squid and I know you were probably just going for a walk because it _was_ hot that day and I might have drowned if you hadn't come in but then I just got mad at you and I had no right to I know and I shouldn't have even been out of the castle let alone _naked_ so..." she paused to catch her breath. "So I'm sorry for all that. Though you still shouldn't have gotten an erection," she added as an afterthought.

At this comment James blushed unmistakeably, and he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "I'm a teenage boy, you know. You're a pretty girl. It was dark, I was tired and restless. Sorry, that shouldn't have happened, I know." Lily saw that James was being sincere. She gave him a smile, a _small_ smile, admittedly, but a _real_ smile at that.

James felt his whole body growing warm. _She doesn't hate me!_ He thought ecstatically.

"Okay, well..." said Lily, still feeling awkward. "I'm glad we straightened that out. It would be silly for us to not get along just because of a thing like that."

"So we're friends?" asked James hopefully.

Lily hesitated, then: "Yeah, I guess we are."

"Lily," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"I said, Lily. I can call you Lily, now that we're friends."

"Hm."

"And what are you going to call me? Now that we're friends."

"Are you making fun of me, Potter?"

"No."

"Well, fine then. James."

James felt a grin spreading all the way across his face. Lily was clearly trying to suppress a smile, as well. Then James saw that Lily was still shuddering from the cold; she was clenching her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering and goosebumps stood up on her arms. She folded her arms across her chest to try to warm them up.

"Merlin, Lily," said James when he noticed this. He was still trying out the novelty of calling Lily 'Lily' to her face.

"W-what?" she shivered.

"You're going to get hypothermia there! Your fingernails are blue!" he said.

She glanced down at her fingernails and looked mildly surprised. "They don't really bother me," she said. "I stopped feeling my fingers about ten minutes ago."

"Jesus! You've got to tell me these things, Lily."

"Well, you looked so warm, and you're only wearing a t-shirt, so I didn't want to complain."

"I'm—I'm warm-blooded. And I was just flying around...Merlin! Here, give me your hands," James suddenly demanded. She held them out; her fingernails were indeed blue and her hands were shaking slightly from the cold. He took Lily's hands into his own and pressed them together; his large, warm hands completely enclosed her small ones. "Damn, you're freezing," he said, pressing his hands around hers to try to warm them.

Lily could barely hear what he was saying. He had stepped closer to Lily when he took her hands, and now he was close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her cheek and feel the warmth radiating from his body. And his _hands_... They were so warm and strong, soft in some places but also heavily calloused and rough from Quiddich. She tried to remember if she'd ever felt anything so wonderful, but her head was too muddled even for that.

"James," she murmered, "don't do this."

"But your hands..." he said helplessly, looking awkwardly down at their hands. Then he looked up and into Lily's face. "Your lips are blue, too, you know," James said softly. He leaned in to close the inches of cold air that separated their faces. His eyes were heavy lidded, his heart thudding faster than it have ever done in Quiddich. He was so nervous... Her lips were blue, he wanted to warm them. He wanted to kiss her more than anything else. He leaned in further. Lily's eyes began to flutter closed.

Then Lily's eyes snapped open wide, like one who has just remembered something very important. "No, James. Potter," she said suddenly. He pulled back as though slapped.

"What?" He was completely bewildered. Hadn't she been leaning in, too?

"I...we can't. Do this. We can't do this."

"Why? Why the hell not, Lily? I want this; you want this," he said vehemently.

"No, I don't want this," she said sadly. "I'm so sorry... I said I wanted us to be friends—but just that. I—it's just—there's someone else. That I like."

James just looked at Lily confusedly. "Who?" he asked, and his heart was breaking. "Who?"

Coming up: Who is it that Lily likes better than James? And how does THAT enigmatic guy feel about Lily's affections? Also, I think the next chapter will have some significant Shrieking Shack time...I don't know if it's going to be a whole chapter's worth, but Remus does transform this night; remember Lily's message she's SUPPOSED to tell James? A/N: Hello my lovelies. Your kind and inspiring reviews have really helped me to keep up with the story. I especially want to thank shadowed.phoenix for your really thoughtful comments. I love to know when my writing is affecting people. Anyway, everyone please keep up the great reviews. If you read this chapter and liked it, just drop me a sentence so I'll write the next one faster. If you didn't like this chapter, tell me so I can make the next one better. I love you all almost as much as I love James. 


	14. A Fight, a Kiss, a Stag

A/N: I'm sorry to make you all wait as I descend deeper into junior year hell. But your reviews made me write—and they really influenced WHAT I wrote. Honestly, when I finished chapter 13, I was planning on making Lily's crush be Sirius. But there was so much anger about the idea of Lily liking Sirius or Remus that I added a PLOT TWIST. Which has yet to be revealed. But formulating THAT was another reason this chapter took longer than it should have.

And you know what: I'm really glad that you guys told me that Lily shouldn't have a crush on Sirius. Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized how wrong it would be for the Lily/James dynamic to come. It just felt UNRIGHT. So thanks.

Oh, I also have a WARNING for you all. This chapter has a lot of swearing, because James is very angry and confused. You all know he can't articulate his thoughts when he's flustered with being near Lily. But if you're offended by the language, I'm very sorry—I should point out that I myself am very much a non-swearer, except for the occasional well-placed "damn." So I know where you're coming from. Now on with the story!

**Previously**:

_He wanted to kiss her more than anything else. He leaned in further. Lily's eyes began to flutter closed. _

_Then Lily's eyes snapped open wide, like one who has just remembered something very important. "No, James. Potter," she said suddenly. He pulled back as though slapped. _

"_What?" He was completely bewildered. Hadn't she been leaning in, too? _

"_I...we can't. Do this. We can't do this." _

"_Why? Why the hell not, Lily? I want this; you want this," he said vehemently. _

"_No, I don't want this," she said sadly. "I'm so sorry... I said I wanted us to be friends—but just that. I—it's just—there's someone else. That I like." _

James just looked at Lily confusedly. "Who?" he asked, and his heart was breaking. "Who?"

Chapter Fourteen:

A Fight, a Kiss, a Stag

"I can't—it's not important," Lily said, her chest heaving and her cheeks red.

"Yes it fucking is!" said James angrily. "Who is it?"

"It doesn't matter," Lily repeated. "You said we could be friends. What was wrong with that?"

"I want..." James seemed to be struggling to articulate his thoughts. "Obviously I want more than that. I _thought_ I made that fucking clear."

"When did you _ever _make that clear?" snapped Lily.

"Well I just tried to kiss you—that seems damn clear to me!" yelled James.

Lily stared at him for a moment, then her voice softened. "You're doing it again, James," she said, her eyes wide.

"Wh—what am I doing again?" James asked. He realized he was yelling and lowered his voice, though they were alone on the Quiddich pitch.

"You're scaring me again. When you get like this—it seems like you could just lunge at me in a fit of anger. It really—I don't want to be around you when you get like this, James."

"Wait, but—"

"And you seem to get like this a lot."

"No, Lily. You don't understand!" said James desperately. "Please...hear me out. I'm sorry I like you, alright! I didn't want to like you either, you know—it just happened. Things would be a _hell of a lot_ easier for me if I could just—forget about you."

"Please try to forget about me. Try."

"I'm sorry that I think you're pretty."

"Please don't do this, James."

"I'm sorry I tried to kiss you."

"James..."

"I'm sorry I thought you wanted to kiss me back," continued James, his voice softening.

Lily looked at him pleadingly. "Please go, James."

"And," continued James, "I'm sorry I frightened you. Hell, I'm _not_ sorry about those other things. You can fucking deal with it if you can't handle me thinking you're pretty. But I _am_ sorry that I frightened you. That's what I'm sorry for. More than anything else. More than anything."

"I have to leave," said Lily in a voice that was almost a whisper; she looked like she was about to cry.

James looked angry and defeated at the same time. He was suddenly very cold, and he rubbed his hands up and down his bare arms. "Fine. Go," he said shortly.

Lily turned and walked until she was almost out of sight. Then she turned back to James and said, "Oh, I almost forgot."

"What?" he asked hopefully.

"Remus said—"

"You were talking to Remus?!" suddenly the anger flaired back up in James and he could feel the heat rising in him. "When were you talking to Remus?" James had a sinking feeling in his stomach; he had had a suspicion that the other boy Lily liked might have been Sirius, but... Remus, it all made sense. Remus was more intellectual than Sirius, and he was certainly more sensitive, more articulate than James. Merlin, Lily had a crush on _Remus_?

But James was startled out of his furious fast-paced thought process when Lily's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Why do you care?"

"What?"

"Why are you so upset about me talking to Remus. He's in Gryffindor, you know," said Lily.

"You were—It's—" but James couldn't bring himself to voice what he feared. Instead, he asked bitterly, "So? You were talking to Remus, and—?"

"Oh," said Lily, slightly taken aback. "Well, he had something he wanted me to tell you. He said...um..." Lily bit her lip as she tried to remember what Remus's strange message had been.

"Oh, forgot already?" sneered James. "Were you too—_distracted_—with Remus to remember exactly what he told you?"

Lily didn't pick up on James's insinuation but she did pick up on his sarcastic tone, which she ignored. "Oh, I remember," she said after a minute. "He said, 'Remind James that animals get restless at night,' or something odd like that." She looked pleased that she had remembered and relayed the message, despite her fight with James.

James's expression of bitterness at Lily turned to confusion at the message, but this was soon replaced by wide-eyed surprise. "Fuck!" he said as he realized what Remus was saying—it was a werewolf night—and as he simultaneously realized that the moon had risen about 20 minutes prior. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"What, what?!" Lily asked, alarmed. "Was that a secret message or something?"

"Yeah, fucking secret message..." James muttered, dashing a hand through his hair. "Why didn't you tell me that at the beginning?!" Not only would he have remembered to meet Remus at the Shrieking Shack, but he and Lily would probably still be on good terms. But alas, it was not so.

"I—I'm sorry!" stuttered Lily. "It didn't sound so important! If he had just explained—"

"He can't explain! He can't—Merlin, Lily...I have to go. Now."

"Where?"

"I'm going to fucking kill him," said James angrily, still seething over the fact that Lily had fallen for Remus, and yet he was still going to Remus's rescue. "I. Will. Kill. Him."

"What are you talking about? You're really scaring me again...you're not going to kill Remus, are you? Because I might have gotten the message wrong..."

"You didn't," snapped James. "I'm sorry that you'll be worrying your pretty head over the fate of poor Remus, your fucking _boyfriend_, but you're going to have to get over it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't."

"I don't! James—" Lily was angry and confused and she felt lied to. Why had neither James nor Remus explained all this to her? "James," Lily tried again, "I thought you liked me."

"I _do_ like you—a lot—I thought I already put my heart pretty much out in the open so you could stomp all over it—do you really need to do this again?"

"If you like me, James, you will tell me what all this is about. Is Remus alright? What's wrong with him?"

James stared at her. "I can't tell you," he said.

Lily took a deep breath, then: "If you tell me what's going on, I'll kiss you." She stared fiercely into James's eyes. His eyes were full of pain and struggle.

"Why—are you doing this to me, Lily?"

"I want to help. I want to help Remus. And you."

"You'll _kiss_ me? Willingly, on the lips?"

A pause, then Lily said, "Yes, I will."

James stared at her lips. At her face, her eyes. He was so attracted her; he desired her so much. And he hated Remus just then more than he ever had; he wanted to hurt Remus. And giving away Remus's secret—that was the biggest revenge he could get. Revenge on Remus for stealing Lily from him.

"Alr—" began James, but then he stopped. He couldn't. No matter how much he hated Remus right then, his loyalties ran too deep. It would be like betraying a brother. It would literally ruin Remus's life if James let his secret out—a secret that Remus had trusted him to keep. He couldn't do it. He knew that this was his last chance with Lily; if he didn't kiss her now, he never would.

It was Lily or Remus. He loved them both so much. "I can't," he said finally to Lily, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry...I wan't this more than you can imagine..." he looked down, blushing. "But it's not my secret to tell. Please—even if you don't like me, even if you don't trust me—please believe that Remus has a very important reason for not telling you what this is all about. Maybe...maybe someday he will tell you."

Lily looked at James strangely; she certainly hadn't expected him to say no. And futhermore, she'd expected herself to be quite angry at him if he didn't aquiesce to her ultimatum—was he not attracted to her? was he just plain impudent? But now...now that he'd told her off...she found that there was something noble about his loyalty to his friends, and his self-restraint. He obviously wanted to kiss her very much.

"James," she said quietly, walking a few steps towards him. She could smell him again, and he smelled warm and comforting.

"Please—don't try to change my mind," James said. "I'm not sure—I have that much self-control left in me."

"I won't," said Lily, but still she stepped closer. "I just..." and with that Lily leaned towards him and brushed her lips ever-so-softly against his own. She felt James stiffen suddenly in shock—even she didn't know what she was doing.

But that brush of the lips was all that would happen that night on the Quiddich pitch; Lily pulled back almost instantly with a surprised look on her own face, like she hadn't expected herself to do that. For his part, James had a dazed look on his face, and a slightly goofy grin was starting to creep onto his lips.

"You kissed me anyway," he said more to himself than to Lily.

"Er." Lily felt very awkward all of a sudden. "Didn't you have somewhere to go? Having to do with Remus's top-secret message?"

"Oh yeah—fuck!" James said again, jolted suddenly out of his reverie. "Thanks. Fuck. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you Lily. Fuck..." and with that James sped out of the Quiddich pitch like a bullet and Lily watched his back grow smaller and smaller.

_Damn he's fast_, she thought admiringly. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering how James's soft lips had felt against her own. Why _had _she kissed him—she really shouldn't have given him any more false hope. But he was so noble...

When she opened her eyes a moment later, James was gone; all that she could see now was a huge stag pausing near the Whomping Willow. Then Lily turned back to the pitch to collect her thoughts, and when she set back off for the castle, the stag was gone. _I must have imagined it_, she thought. _I don't think there are even any deer in the Forbidden Forest, and even if there were, forest animals rarely come out onto school grounds_.

But that was her last thought, for at that moment the cold that had been seeping into her bones suddenly overcame Lily, and she collapsed onto the ground.

A/N: I hope you liked it—I really want to write things that you'll all love reading. And I gave you TINY kiss, so there. But please please REVIEW. My great reviewers for chapter 13 are ydole3343, SnoopyViz, shadowed.phoenix, Hawaiian-Rachael, Dans-girl-4ever, Kristinerz77, GSCer, bumi, wudnulike2know, LostConscience, Alatariel Linwe Narmolanya, fearthedark10, and lilycrazy9224. Your reviews made me happy and inspired, of course. Reviews are what make me write; even if you just say "good job," it's nice to know that you've been reading my story. Any of you who are writers know that reviews DO fuel the fire and make us write faster. Let's face it: we're review whores. So go. Review. Now. I love you all.


	15. The Shrieking Shack

"_You kissed me anyway," he said more to himself than to Lily. _

"_Er." Lily felt very awkward all of a sudden. "Didn't you have somewhere to go? Having to do with Remus's top-secret message?"_

"_Oh yeah—fuck!" James said again, jolted suddenly out of his reverie. "Thanks. Fuck. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you Lily. Fuck…" and with that James sped out of the Quiddich pitch like a bullet and Lily watched his back grow smaller and smaller. _

Damn he's fast, she thought admiringly. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering how James's soft lips had felt against her own. Why had she kissed him—she really shouldn't have given him any more false hope. But he was so noble…

_When she opened her eyes a moment later, James was gone; all that she could see now was a huge stag pausing near the Whomping Willow. Then Lily turned back to the pitch to collect her thoughts, and when she set back off for the castle, the stag was gone_. I must have imagined it, _she thought_. I don't think there are even any deer in the Forbidden Forest, and even if there were, forest animals rarely come out onto school grounds.

_But that was her last thought, for at that moment the cold that had been seeping into her bones suddenly overcame Lily, and she collapsed onto the ground._

Chapter Fifteen:

The Shrieking Shack

As soon as he saw Lily turn away, James had transformed into his stag form and used his antlers to prod the knob on the Whomping Willow. How could he have been so stupid, to forget that tonight was the full moon? He had never once forgotten a full moon night, and he knew how dangerous it was for Sirius to be handling Remus on his own.

Silently cursing, the stag dashed down the stone passageway until he reached the basement of the Shrieking Shack; he could hear Sirius's barks and shriek-like yowls of Remus as a werewolf as he drew closer. He burst through the door and found a dog and a werewolf clawing and biting angrily at one another; already both were more bloody than he had ever seen them.

James, as a stag, threw himself between the two and thus entered the fray. Peter, as a rat, scampered about their feet. Another full moon night had begun.

When the first thin rays of sunlight seeped into the Shrieking Shack, the wild werewolf collapsed onto the ground, taking Remus's true form once more. The rat, dog, and stag each transformed, going to sit by Remus.

Remus looked awful, but by then they had gotten used to the white face, sweaty hair, and bloodshot eyes that Remus would have after a full moon night. He was a bit more scratched up than usual, but it was nothing compared to Sirius.

Though Sirius only had to handle Remus alone for about a half hour, that little time alone was enough for the werewolf to break three of his ribs, bruise his arms and legs, and bite at his chest and stomach. Sirius could barely move.

James and Peter were relatively fine, at least compared to the condition their friends were in. Now that James finally had time to think back on what had transpired on the Quiddich Pitch, a surly look came onto his face.

"You okay, Remus? Sirius?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm…the same," said Remus weakly. "Merlin transforming hurts."

Sirius glared at James through bruised eyes. "Where the hell were you, Prongs?" he asked angrily. "Why were you late? Did you forget? Did you forget about the most important thing that the four of us have? The only thing that we swore _never to forget_?"

"I'm—" began James, but Sirius cut him off.

"Don't fucking _apologize_, James," Sirius said. "You know if you had been ten minutes later, I would have been dead."

"I would have killed you," Remus said quietly.

Now Sirius turned to Remus. "_You_ wouldn't have killed me, Moony," he said, still angry. "But a werewolf would have. A werewolf and James would have killed me, if he had been ten minutes later."

James didn't know what to say; despite his fury, Sirius was right. "Well you're alive, aren't you?" said James angrily. "I _did_ come, didn't I? We're fine, what's done is done."

"_You're_ fine, maybe," said Sirius, "but I have some things broken inside me, and I'm feeling dizzy from blood loss. And you forget that I'm going to need to go to the Infirmary for this, which means we'll need an explanation for why I'm so fucking bloodied up. And if I don't say anything, they'll assume I got in a fight; it looks like I _killed_ someone, James. Look at me!"

"We'll think of something," said James, but a note of panic had come into his voice.

"And there's another thing, Prongs," continued Sirius. "You say we're fine. But you know what, we're _not_ fine. I don't know if I can trust you. I'm going to have to wonder each month: is this the month he'll forget again? Is this the month I'll die?"

"I _won't _forget again, okay?!" James exploded.

"Ha, so you admit it," sneered Sirius.

"Admit what?"

"That you forgot."

"No, I…you don't understand, Sirius. I didn't _forget_; I was under…circumstances. Circumstances that have never occurred before and will never occur again. I couldn't…think straight, with her that close to me."

"Who?" asked Sirius. Sirius still didn't know of James's affections for Lily; as far as he knew, the bet was still on.

"Um…" said James, unsure.

"Lily," said Remus. Sirius and James looked at Remus in surprise.

"Excuse me?" asked Sirius.

"He's talking about Lily," said Remus.

"Speaking of that," said James, his voice rising again, "what did you _do_ with Lily, Moony?"

"What do you—" asked Remus.

"She—she…" but James couldn't make himself say it. It seemed to low to say it out loud, but his thoughts were screaming for attention in his head: _Lily likes Remus, she talked to him, Lily likes Remus, not you…_ "She talked to you," he finished lamely.

Remus could sense the accusation in James's voice. "Hey, wait a minute," Remus said defensively. "She sought _me_ out, you know. Did she tell you that? I didn't come on to her, I didn't even approach her. Lay off, Prongs, get a grip."

"She…sought you out?" asked James weakly.

"What the fuck is going on?" asked Sirius loudly. "What's all this about Lily? I'm a little confused, here, because _Merlin_ it sounds a lot like you like her, Prongs, and I don't know what to think about that."

James looked torn. "Yes. I like her," he said. _But it's all for nothing_, his head told him. _She doesn't like you that way. She likes Remus. She sought him out. You want them all to be happy…so let her go_. James amended himself: "A little. I only like her a little. Whatever, no big deal. Flavor of the week, right?"

"That didn't _sound_ like a flavor of the week," said Sirius resolutely. "I've never heard you get angry about a girl before."

"No, no…that's not it," said James. "I was just mad…because Lily came to talk to me, and I guess she likes Remus or something or I don't know the fuck what, and I was so confused, and so upset about coming here late, about what could have happened. I was nervous about you guys, and…I was just angry about everything."

"Wait a second, James," said Sirius. "Do you like her or not. Because if you do…I lay off, you know. I'll stop trying to get her to go out with me. I'll forget the stupid bet. But only if you really like her, man. If you're going to ask her out on a date, if you're really going to make an effort…if this _isn't_ a goddamn flavor of the week. If that's what's going on here, I'll call off the bet. But only if. Because I don't want you to just try to get out of this bet by some vague means, or whatever you're playing at. Tell me."

James thought very hard. He liked Lily so much it hurt, but…she clearly didn't return his feelings—they had almost been _kissing_ on the Quiddich pitch and she had pushed him away because she only wanted them to be friends. She had told him that there was someone else. And if that someone else was Remus, or even Sirius…then his own obstinance could keep the people he cared about from being happy. He wanted Lily to be happy, but he wished she could be happy with him.

James turned to Sirius. "I like her," he said simply. "But she doesn't like me. She…made that pretty clear to me. And so. No, I can't tell you truly that I'll be able to make it work. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can't. But I wish we could still call off this stupid bet, Padfoot. I feel really uneasy about gambling with Lily's feelings."

"So you're calling off the bet because you care about Lily, _not_ because you know you're going to lose?" Sirius asked incredulously.

James nodded vehemently. "Yeah, certainly."

"So you're not just chickening out because of what you'd have to do if I got Lily to go out on a date with me?"

"Of course not!" said James. "I don't care about _that_. I just…don't feel right about the bet."

Sirius nodded gleefully. "Great! The bet is done, then…but since you're the one who called it off, you still have to do the punishment as though you'd lost."

James paled. "Now, Sirius, don't you think that's a little…"

"Prongs, you _said_ you don't care about the punishment. If you were telling the truth just now, you'll go along with my plan."

"Fine," James said shortly. "Now lets get you guys to the Infirmary—you look awful!"

Sirius looked somber again and Remus just nodded—he hadn't spoken for a while because his ribs hurt too much for him to talk. He was hurt far more seriously than he let on, but he didn't want his friends feeling guilty because of _his_ affliction. They did so much for him, as it was.

"You okay, Sirius?" asked James.

"Well, what are we going to tell Madame Pomfrey. I mean, she knows about Remus, but what excuse do _I _have for being in such a state."

James thought hard for a minute. "Tell her you were flying late at night and you fell off your broom. You'll get a detention for being out after curfew and you'll seem damn clumsy, but it's better than being sent to Azkaban for being an Animagus. Hell, I'll come with you. I'll say I was out playing Quiddich with you. We can polish trophies together, eh?"

Sirius grinned. "That's my boy," he said. "Always willing to keep me company in detention." He started to stand up. "But fuck! I am still mad at you for forgetting, Prongs. This hurts like hell."

James levitated Sirius and Peter levitated Remus; the four of them made their way back to the castle without noticing an unconscious Lily lying cold by the Quiddich pitch.

**Coming up: James will find Lily, and later he'll need to carry out his "punishment," heh-heh.**

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. School, life. Please leave a review, even if it's just a few words (but more words is better!), because it'll make me move my ass to get started on the next chapter. Veddy eventful things coming up. I love reviews, please take a second to tell me what you think, or what you think should happen in the future.**

**And incidentally, if you're curious about what kinds of things I'm interested in out of fanfiction, you can look at my blog at http:thecavebelow .blogspot .com (minus the spaces, of course…stupid won't print urls. Bye my lovely readers and reviews. Happy Thanksgiving.)**


	16. The LifeKiss

**A/N: Thank you, beautiful reviewers. A couple of things to address: first, I'm sorry about James's bad language, and it's certainly going to be toned down from now on—the last couple of chapters have been very stressful for him, however. Second, I realize that the last chapter was kind of awful, so from now on I will try to get some L/J action (or at least INTERaction) into each chapter. And the plot will kick in SOON.**

**Previously:**

"_You okay, Sirius?" asked James. _

"Well, what are we going to tell Madame Pomfrey. I mean, she knows about Remus, but what excuse do I have for being in such a state."

James thought hard for a minute. "Tell her you were flying late at night and you fell off your broom. You'll get a detention for being out after curfew and you'll seem damn clumsy, but it's better than being sent to Azkaban for being an Animagus. Hell, I'll come with you. I'll say I was out playing Quiddich with you. We can polish trophies together, eh?"

_Sirius grinned. "That's my boy," he said. "Always willing to keep me company in detention." He started to stand up. "But fuck! I am still mad at you for forgetting, Prongs. This hurts like hell." _

_James levitated Sirius and Peter levitated Remus; the four of them made their way back to the castle without noticing an unconscious Lily lying cold by the Quiddich pitch._

**Chapter Sixteen**

**The Life-Kiss**

Just as the Marauders reached the castle gate, James stopped in his tracks.

"Uh, James--?" asked Peter, puzzled.

"Sorry guys, but—Peter, do you mind levitating Remus _and_ Sirius the rest of the way up to the Infirmary?" James asked hurriedly.

"Sure, but—" began Peter.

"Thanks. I was flying at the pitch last night and I just realized that I left my broomstick there. And Slytherin has practice this morning, so I don't want them getting their slimy hands on it," James said earnestly.

"Merlin, James," said Sirius, "have you _ever_ forgotten your broomstick before? In your _entire _time at Hogwarts?"

"Well no, but…I was distracted last night."

"Ah. Lily," said Remus knowingly.

"Cut it out," said James a little more harshly than was necessary. "We already went over this. I had a little crush, she said she doesn't like me, that's fine. But yes, she did distract me a bit last night." He still hadn't told the other Marauders that she had kissed him, albeit just a brushing of the lips. He'd never kept anything like that from them before. But then, he'd also never before trivialized a crush on a girl. _What is it_, he wondered,_ that's so different about Lily? It's like I'm changing now that I'm around her…_

But James pushed those thoughts out of his mind and focused on the task at hand. "So Peter, bring the guys up to the Infirmary. I'll get my broom, then report up to see how you guys are, Sirius and Remus. And to claim my detention," he added grimly as an afterthought.

Remus, Sirius, and Peter all nodded their consent.

"Alright, say hello to Poppy for me," James said, and he was off. He walked briskly towards the Quiddich pitch.

When he stepped out onto the pitch, he saw her. Her face was deathly white, and she was sprawled awkwardly on the cold dirt. Her red hair was tangled, splayed about her head. She looked dead.

"Oh my god," he breathed, horror crossing his face. "Oh my god, Lily…" he ran to her, kneeling by her cold, unmoving body. "Lily…Lily…Lily…" James murmered again and again. He felt her hands; they were cold as ice. Her eyes were closed but there was no trace of REM beneath her eyelids. Her lips and fingers were blue; the rest of her skin was unnaturally white.

James ran his warm hands swiftly across her face, thinking that perhaps this would awaken her—it did not. He leaned his head down so his ear rested on her chest just above her heart, but he couldn't hear a heartbeat. He felt for a pulse; there was none.

He was immobile; he couldn't think. He tried to shake his head to clear it…_You're a wizard, dammit!_ he reprimanded himself. He pulled out his wand and muttered a healing incantation. Then he tried _Ennervate_, but it did nothing.

So she hadn't been cursed or stunned, or otherwise hurt by magical means. Which meant he couldn't revive her with magical means. He tried to think back to Muggle Studies; he'd spent most of that class passing notes with Sirius, but he'd passed all the exams alright…

He thought swiftly, his mind racing as he tried desperately to think of what he could do. He remembered learning something about epinephrine—adrenaline. You had to somehow pump the person full of adrenaline to revive them…give them a shot of the chemical that your body makes naturally during any intense excitement. That's what re-starts your heart.

But he didn't have a shot of adrenaline, and he was sure Madame Pomfrey didn't have any either. _Intense excitement…_he thought, and then suddenly he knew. He remembered the way his heart would be racing after he woke up from a dream about kissing Lily. He knew…what he had to do.

Hell of a bad situation in which to have your first real kiss. He took a deep breath before looking down again at Lily's pale, still form. He felt something constrict within him—_if only I'd have given her my cloak, or guided her back to the castle…_ he thought woefully. But there was no more time for contemplation.

James leaned down, his messy black hair brushing against Lily's forehead, and he kissed her with all the confused emotions that were racing around and making his head throb, making his heart throb, and making his, er, delicate regions throb. He kissed her cold lips and pressed his hands on her cold face, trying to warm her, trying to revive her. His anger—at her? at Sirius? at Remus? at himself? at his whole fucking life?—coursed through him and into Lily as passion, as heat, as love.

Then, suddenly, he felt something. A beat. An erratic beat of her heart. A shadow of warmth leaking into her face. He felt her lips open almost imperceptibly to return the kiss—she was still unconcious, but her body was responding to James's passion. He had brought her back to life.

But damn was she going to be mad when she found out how.

Assured that Lily was at least stable now, James picked up her limp body in his strong arms and began to run towards the castle. His wand and his broomstick lay forgotten on the pitch, and the first rays of morning were beginning to creep across the horizon.

After ducking through numerous secret passageways, James arrived ten minutes later at the infirmary—he didn't know if his heart was racing because of the physical exertion, or from worry and fear, or from the fact that Lily was lying in his arms.

His arms were full, so James kicked the Infirmary door as hard as he could; he heard something crack, but the door came open. The lights were on as Madame Pomfrey was in the middle of reprimandind Sirius, Remus, and Peter. They all turned at the sound of the door smashing open and they stared open-mouthed at a very flushed James cradling a very unconscious Lily in his arms.

"James," said Sirius finally, voicing what they were all thinking, "what the _hell_?"

"I," began James, still panting for breath, "I went to, _pant_, get my broomstick, _pant_, and, _pant_, Lily was just, _pant_, lying there. Unconscious." He decided not to tell them about the kiss; it would just embarrass both Lily and himself, and nobody really needed to know. Besides, when he thought about it, kissing a dead girl was really quite perverted—it reminded him of "Porphyria's Lover."

"Why was she unconscious on the Quiddich pitch, James?" asked Sirius fiercely. "Who hurt her? What happened?" He had an accusatory tone and he looked at Lily worriedly.

"Sirius," muttered Remus quietly, "she went to talk to James last night. Remember? Remember how…" he let his voice fade off.

Sirius nodded tersely, but he still looked to James for a reply.

"I was talking to her last night, then I left to meet up with you guys," James said stonily. "When I went back to get my broom, she…was just lying there. I guess she passed out from the cold before she left."

"Wait a moment, boys," interrupted Madame Pomfrey for the first time thusfar in the conversation. "If Lily was on the pitch and none of you knew…then does that mean that you boys were _somewhere other than where you told me_?" She looked angry.

"N—yes," answered James uneasily. "I mean, we were playing Quiddich, but not on the pitch. We were just playing over the grounds."

Madame Pomfrey looked like she very much doubted that this was the case, but she nodded. She had more important things to deal with right now, after all.

Sirius and Remus, in their injured states, had been sitting on their hospital beds during the conversation. James had been holding Lily all the while.

"Alright then, boys," chirped Madame Pomfrey. "Remus, Sirius, I'd like you to each drink a little of this potion"—she handed them a foul-smelling concoction—"and James, please put Miss Lily on this bed here," she said, motioning towards another cot.

"Alright," said James awkwardly, now very aware of Lily's heavy breathing making her chest rise and fall against his own. She coughed; he looked fondly down at her. She opened an eye—wait, she _opened an eye?!_—then closed it, then immediately both of her eyes snapped open.

"Merlin!" she screamed, but the scream quickly turned into a painful-sounding, wracking cough. She retched dryly.

James looked very startled, and a mixture of pleasure that she was alright and unease that she had woken up in his arms flashed across his face. He plopped her down on the bed a little two quickly, and stepped away from her.

"Er," he said.

Finally Lily's coughing spell had ended, so of course she immediately began talking angrily. Her voice was quiet, because she didn't want to rouse another cough, but her voice was nevertheless angry and low.

"James," she said, "please explain to me why I'm here. And why I was in your arms just a moment ago." There would be no skirting of the question.

"Well, erm, you see, Lily…" James began stutteringly.

"Just tell me," she demanded. Her skin was still very white.

"Last night, I left in a hurry—remember?"

"Yes."

"Well, I was gone all night but then I remembered that I'd left my broomstick on the pitch, so I went back to get it."

"What does this all have to do with me?"

"Patience, grasshopper," he said with a goodnatured laugh, "I'm getting to you. So when I got to the pitch, you were sprawled on the ground, unconscious. I think you must have passed out from the cold just after I left you. Is that what happened?"

"How do you expect _me_ to remember? I was unconscious."

"Oh, right. Sorry," said James clumsily. "But anyway, I carried you back up here. That's what happened."

"That's all?" she asked curiously, but not maliciously. It seemed suddenly like all her anger had evaporated and turned into fatigue.

"Well…yes, that's it," James said, trying desperately but failing miserably to forget that weird, life-bringing kiss.

"Hm," Lily said more to herself than to him. "That's odd. I just seem to recall…no, it's silly, I know…but I seem to recall something…some jolt of electricity or…something. Was there lightning last night?"

"No."

"No electrical storm?"

"No; it was pretty clear out."

"Oh…" said Lily with a furrowed brow, and James stood up suddenly, muttering something about needing a glass of water. When he returned, she was fast asleep, breathing regularly apart from some irregular rasps that meant she'd have a bad cough tomorrow. He looked down at her, cheeks now flushed and lips pink again. Eyelids flickering in that way they do…it seemed to James that he ended up gazing down at Lily in the Infirmary quite a lot these days.

He turned to Sirius and Remus (on beds) and Peter (standing uncomfortably in the corner) to find the other Marauders staring at him strangely.

James blushed. "Bye guys…I'm tired too." He rushed out of the Infirmary and back to Gryffindor tower, where he slept heavily.

Peter left the Infirmary soon after James, and the minute the door closed behind their friend, Remus and Sirius turned to one another.

"Jesus," said Sirius solemnly, "how did we not see that before? How did we not know?"

"Well, he did kind of tell us. Last night. He half-told us, at least. He said it wasn't a big deal, though," Remus replied.

"It is most certainly a big deal," said Sirius.

"Very big."

"But…it's just odd. I mean, Prongs has never kept anything from us before, especially not a girl. He's never done that before, has he Moony?" asked Sirius.

"Well, if he'd kept it from us then we wouldn't know, would we?" said Remus dryly. "But no, I don't think he ever has. It _is_ odd."

"Did you see the way he looked at her?" asked Sirius earnestly.

"Oh _Merlin_ you'd better not be going soft on me, Padfoot," said Remus with a grin. "G'night."

"G'night."

And with that both Remus and Sirius turned off their lights, blanketing the Infirmary in darkness. Across the room, Lily opened her eyes. _What_ had she just heard?!

**Author's note: Hello, I hope this chapter is better than the last one. And I'd _damn_ well better get more reviews for this one than I did for chapter 15. Please review. It's long. I spent a lot of time on it. PLEASE review. I love you all, and as you might know, the number of reviews correlates directly to the amount of Lily/James action you all get. So get typing smiles winningly**

**And in case you're curious, here's the full text of "Porphyria's Lover," by Robert Browning. Creeeeepy.**

The rain set early in to-night,

The sullen wind was soon awake,

It tore the elm-tops down for spite,

And did its worst to vex the lake:

I listened with heart fit to break.

When glided in Porphyria; straight

She shut the cold out and the storm,

And kneeled and made the cheerless grate

Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;

Which done, she rose, and from her form

Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,

And laid her soiled gloves by, untied

Her hat and let the damp hair fall,

And, last, she sat down by my side

And called me. When no voice replied,

She put my arm about her waist,

And made her smooth white shoulder bare,

And all her yellow hair displaced,

And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,

And spread, o'er all, her yellow hair,

Murmuring how she loved me--she

Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour,

To set its struggling passion free

From pride, and vainer ties dissever,

And give herself to me for ever.

But passion sometimes would prevail,

Nor could to-night's gay feast restrain

A sudden thought of one so pale

For love of her, and all in vain:

So, she was come through wind and rain.

Be sure I looked up at her eyes

Happy and proud; at last I knew

Porphyria worshipped me; surprise

Made my heart swell, and still it grew

While I debated what to do.

That moment she was mine, mine, fair,

Perfectly pure and good: I found

A thing to do, and all her hair

In one long yellow string I wound

Three times her little throat around,

And strangled her. No pain felt she;

I am quite sure she felt no pain.

As a shut bud that holds a bee,

I warily oped her lids: again

Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.

And I untightened next the tress

About her neck; her cheek once more

Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:

I propped her head up as before,

Only, this time my shoulder bore

Her head, which droops upon it still:

The smiling rosy little head,

So glad it has its utmost will,

That all it scorned at once is fled,

And I, its love, am gained instead!

Porphyria's love: she guessed not how

Her darling one wish would be heard.

And thus we sit together now,

And all night long we have not stirred,

And yet God has not said a word!


End file.
